The Anomaly Collapses
by Elarix
Summary: After the events of Starfox Command, the team finds themselves in another galactic war, this time with strange enemies with the annoying ability to warp. They will face Andross and a group of shady Cornerian elites trying to bring him to victory. This story aims to tie together unexplained events from the Starfox franchise as well as producing a twist ending.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This is my first fan-fiction ever, so let's see how it goes. I'm planning this too be a looong story, taking place after Starfox Command. Wondering why its called _The Anomaly Collapses? _Patience. Also, p****lease review, and random comments are appreciated. Rated T for violence, very infrequent language, and tragedy, though most of that is at the end.**

** Chapter 1: A New Mission**

Beeeeeeeeeeep! Beeeeeeeeeeep! Beeeeeeeeeeep!

A high-pitched... well... beeping noise emitted from Fox's wrist communicator, causing him to start and bang his head against the underside of his arwing. "Ow! What the heck?" He rubbed his head as he scooted out from beneath his arwing, dragging his tools with him as he did so. _Note to self; turn down alarm volume._ He stood up, brushing the dust off his jacket. Ever since Amanda had joined the team, Slippy had been distracted... so much that he often neglected to make repairs on their arwings, and was struggling to catch up on his work. Fox and the rest of the team found themselves doing more and more of the dirty work they usually left to their green-skinned mechanic.

Fox began quickly walking through the hallways of the Great Fox as he keyed his comm, transmitting to all of the team at once. "Everyone; report to the bridge for our next mission immediately."

The Great Fox sprang to life as all of the team showed up. Falco Lombardi emerged from his room, trying to fix his blaster. "Yo, Fox, what's the new mission?" Fox shrugged in reply; he'd only heard ROB's summons a few seconds ago, and had no idea.

Krystal stuck her head out of the rec room, munching on a bag of chips. "Mnnnchmpp mmm krnmm?" Fox couldn't understand her, but he guessed what she meant, and repeated the gesture he gave Falco. She fell instep behind Fox with Falco.

Slippy dropped down through an empty ceiling panel, a screw-driver in hand, bracing himself with the other hand against the ground as he landed. He immediately sprang up and followed the rest of the group. "Finally, a new mission!"

_Just like old times, _Fox thought. He always loved the moment when they all ran through the interior of the Great Fox together, alarms blaring, wind whistling through their clothes and fur as they dashed down the metal hall. It always felt so epic to Fox.

They turned a corner, almost bowling over Amanda. "WAAAH!" she cried as she threw her arms in the air, scattering the rolls of maps she was carrying. Everyone slipped on the rolling maps, falling over on the ground, doing face-plants or landing on their rumps. Their epic moment had been spoiled.

Fox quietly growled as he pushed a flailing slippy off of him. Krystal offered Falco a hand, who glanced at it, then ignored it, pulling himself up. He slipped again on a map of Venom that had unfurled, and this time he took Krystal's hand. Fox helped Amanda up, and they were all standing again, except Slippy. He launched his tongue out, which stuck to the ceiling, attempting to grapple himself up. But instead, the panel fell down on top of them all, knocking them to the ground again. "Slippy!" they all groaned angrily.

Finally they had sorted out the mess and made it to the bridge. "What's the mission, ROB?"

ROB spun himself around in his swivel chair, but over-calculated, spinning himself too far. "Pulling the transmission up on the projector." He said as he again attempted to face the team.

A holographic image sprang up from the center table. It was of a richly dressed panda, sipping from a champagne glass as he studied the team. Fox recognized the bear as Bo Pandafeller, the head of one of the wealthiest families in Corneria. "Greetings, team Starfox. A have a job for you that will pay handsomely... that is,_ if_ you can accomplish the mission. You see, a group of pirates have stolen all of my funds from my bank account; they broke into my estate and downloaded them, and are making their way secretly through Cornerian back roads in an armored hover car. My guards have tried everything to penetrate the car, but nothing short of your plasma cannons will work. I've given your robot the coordinates of the pirates."

Fox glanced sideways at ROB, who was still spinning around in his chair, frustrated. The image of the panda shrunk slightly, making room for a picture of dark, expensive hover-car zooming along. An x-ray showed that the hover-car had several concealed weapons, and the occupants were armed as well.

"And how much will this mission pay?" Falco said, snapping the last pieces of his gun into place. The gun fired a laser that bounced around the room, causing everyone to duck, including Pandafeller. The aristocrat poked his head into the viewing range of the hologram, making sure everything was safe, and then rose completely. Falco hid the gun behind his back.

"I am allocating you one percent of my electronic funds, which is... roughly one-hundred million credits." Fox's eyes bulged, Falco dropped his gun, Krystal spat out a few chips, and ROB stopped spinning. "I'm sorry, but I can't offer you anything in advance; they essentially have all my money."

"Understood." Fox said. "We'll take it."

"Good, good. I will expect to see you at my estate with the funds in hand. Oh, and Lombardi..."

Falco looked up.

"... Watch that itchy finger of yours."

Falco muttered something under his breath as he walked away. "Bo out." The panda said as his hologram collapsed.

"ROB; set our course for Corneria. Let's bust some pirates!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thanks to Glacier Paws for noting an inconsistency; it has been fixed.**

**Chapter 2: The Frame Up**

The team had suited-up for their mission, and were climbing into their ships. Amanda had come to see Slippy off, and then left to take her position back at the bridge of the Great Fox. One by one, their cockpits closed. The hangar was filled with a high pitched noise as their engines gathered energy. Fox, Falco, and Krystal shared the same sound system, so they played their favorite hard-rock bands, while Slippy preferred to play country. (Yes, that was an insult.) ROB emerged carrying a tray with a six-pack of soda on it, saying, "Sir, your-" But at that moment, the engines reached their climax and each let out a giant burst of energy as their ships rocketed out of the hangar. "Coke..." he finished. He was singed, and the soda pack had exploded in the heat.

The four arwings took up diamond formation, with Fox in the lead. "Report condition." Fox said.

"All fine."

"No problem"

"My bun warmers aren't working" Slippy said. Falco snorted.

"Good. Now follow me." Fox zoomed over the giant capital city of Corneria, maneuvering around the occasional skyscraper. Soon, they spotted the sleek black hover-car, which was speeding through the alleys of the poorer side of the city. "This is going to be a tight fit: You three land your arwings at the end of the alley where it opens up, and I'll take them from behind. When they come out, we'll have them surrounded."

"Got it, Fox." Falco, Krystal, and Slippy broke formation to land at the opposite end of the alley. Fox tilted his arwing so that it was perpendicular to the street, and squeezed into the alley, careful not to scrape against either wall.

"Say your prayers." he said as he opened fire on the hover-car. The car had no room to dodge, and sustained several hits. But the pirates new fox couldn't dodge either, so they decided to strike back. An unidentifiable figure pushed the top open and stood up through it. He gasped when he saw who it was, shouted something to the others who were in the hover-car, and opened fire on fox. But while the pirates were restricted from moving side to side, Fox was able to at least move up and down, so he dodged a few of the attacks. Just as concealed weapons began to pop out of every conceivable place on the car, it emerged from the alley. Fox's wing-mates let out several blasts from their plasma cannons, which all landed on the hover-car. The metal plating of the car was terribly damaged, and the car did a forward flip until it landed on it's back, scraping up mounds of asphalt as it slide to a stop against a trash bin.

"Ok, let's check it out." The pilots opened their cockpits, and dropped to the ground, weapons drawn. They cautiously crept towards the now upside-down hover-car. When they reached it, Fox flung open the door, and they pointed their blasters into it. But instead of pirates, they were greeted by none other than the chancellor of Corneria, Turrick Ollama, still sitting upside down in his seat, arms crossed.

The brown-furred llama said, "Seriously Fox, I wouldn't think it of you." and with that, several bulldog bodyguards jumped over the car, taking up positions behind the team, their guns pointed.

"Oops." Fox said as the team raised their hands.

_Fox, _Krystal was speaking to him telepathically. _They think we were trying to assassinate him! You better do some quick explaining._

"Look, Chancellor, we didn't know it was you."

"So you just roam around attacking random hover-cars, is that it?"

"No, you see, Bo Pandafeller hired us to track down some pirates that had robbed him."

"What? You expect me to believe that one of my best friends had you hunt me down?"

"Maybe it was a practical joke?"

"Guards, take their weapons and call a squad car to pick us up. I was hoping to get back to my estate secretly, but now I'll have to-"

At that moment, Falco tossed his gun to the nearest guard, who made to catch it. But Falco then leaped into the air, executed a spinning kick to the guard's head, caught his gun, and pressed it to the Chancellor's head. "Call your guards off."

"Falco, not helping."

"Put your gun down bird, or the green one gets it." growled a bulldog as he put his gun to Slippy's head.

"You picked the wrong hostage; that one gets on my nerves."

"Falco!?" Slippy gulped, but the guards just pointed their guns at the rest of his teammates.

"Fine." Falco tossed his gun to the same bulldog he tossed it to the first time, but the guard just jumped away from it.

"What are you going to do with us?" Krystal asked.

"What do you expect me to do?" Said Ollama. "You just attempted to assassinate the Chancellor of Corneria." Fox began to protest, but Ollama cut him off. "Don't worry, you'll be given a fair trial."

"Why were you using the back roads to get to your estate?" Slippy asked.

"Because we're at war, boy."

Fox looked at the Chancellor in disbelief. "With who?"

"We don't know yet. They're like nothing we've ever seen before. They can appear out of nowhere at any time, and disappear just as fast. Whoever they are, I suspect they've hired you to take me out."

"Or they set us up..." Fox mumbled.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: The first half of this chapter his kind-of slow, as it is a trial. I skipped through most of the trial, though.**

**Chapter 3: The "Fair" Trial**

"Order! Order!" The judge slammed his gavel down forcefully enough so that the head fell off of the handle. He tossed the two pieces into a nearby trashcan and opened a drawer full of gavels, grabbing one at random. "The court is now in session." Said the blustering rooster.

Fox gazed out over the courtroom, noting the reporters, aristocrats, and politicians sitting in the rows of benches. Fox and his team were hand-cuffed and seated across from the jury, on opposite sides of the judge's platform. The judge randomly shouted "Quiet!" again, even though it was completely quiet. Everyone exchanged glances. "Please madame, wherever you are, we do not tolerate such insults in this courtroom!" Fox looked at Krystal, who was trying hard not to laugh. Fox elbowed her to make her stop teasing the judge with her mind. "Well then, Prosecutor, please present your opening statement."

A thin sneering weasel stepped up to the podium, his speech in hand, and a smug look on his face. The expression slowly disappeared as he flipped his notes upside down and around, trying to make sense of them, finally giving up and flinging his papers everywhere. "Whatever. Anyway, the Republic of Corneria charges Star Fox with the attempted assassination of Chancellor Turrick Ollama. We intend to prove that they attacked the Chancellor's private hover-craft on its way to..."

Fox started to zone out, his eyelids drooping. Falco was yawning, and Krystal had fallen asleep, but Slippy was too busy sweating buckets to doze. Finally Fox drifted off into sleep.

"Will Mr. Fox McCloud please take the witness stand?... Mr McCloud..." Krystal shook Fox to wake him up, and finally whacked him on the head with a water thermos. The reporters chuckled.

"I'm awake! I'm awake!" He said as he cowered away from Krystal.

"Fox..." His lawyer, Furry Mason, said.

"What?"

"Take the witness stand."

Fox slid off of the bench, walking to the stand. A rabbit met him half way, saying extremely fast, "Do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"

"Wha?"

The rabbit rolled his eyes and started to repeat again, "Do you-" But the judge interrupted him. "Whatever. Just let him take his seat."

Fox took his seat in the witness booth, putting his boots up on the rail of the stand. The judge gave him an angry glare, and Fox quickly took them down.

"Now Fox, did you attack the Chancellor's hover-craft?" His lawyer asked.

"Yah, but we thought someone else was in it."

"Please explain how you got the mission." Furry Mason said.

"We got a call from Bo Pandafeller. He said he had a mission for us. A bunch of crooks robbed him, and he indicated that they were making a get-away in what turned out to be the Chancellor's hover-craft."

"Objection!" cried the weasel. "This is clearly hearsay-" But Krystal shouted at him with her mind, _Objection overruled _ The weasel shrunk back down in his chair, apologizing. The judge eyed him, curiously, then turned back to Fox's Lawyer, "Continue."

"Did you make any attempt to kill the Chancellor after you realized who it was?"

"No, none at all. We even had the chance to kill him again, when one of my team got the drop on the Chancellor, but I told him to let him go. We've also had numerous chances since then to escape and kill him, but we passed them up. The only reason we haven't escaped yet is because we're waiting for the outcome of this trial."

"No further question, your honor." Furry Mason left the podium to the weasel, who stepped up to cross-examine him.

"Mr. McCloud, what proof do you have of your allegations against Mr. Pandafeller?"

"We always record any messages sent to us. It should be on the Great Fox."

"Then why didn't our police find any such message in the data bank when they searched it?"

Fox couldn't come up with an answer. ROB always recorded any deals they made. The weasel smiled, and continued. "And why would one of the Chancellor's best friends instigate his assassination?"

Fox again was silent. He looked to Krystal, whose face became knit with worry. But she looked at Fox and gave him the answer she had read from Bo's mind. Fox stated, "Pandafeller and his friends were payed to stage a coup, and at the same time, get rid of me. They were payed to get a puppet elected after Chancellor Ollama was assassinated."

The prosecutor had a skeptical look on his face, but from the surprised expressions of Pandafeller and gang, he knew he had struck a nerve. "Oh really?" said the weasel. "Why would they have to get rid of _you_?"

Fox continued, "Because I'm the only one who can stop..." Krystal put a paw over her mouth when she relayed the next thought. "...Andross."

The courtroom broke out in a loud buzz as reporters flashed cameras and the public talked hurriedly. "Order! Order in the court!" The judge broke gavel after gavel as he uselessly hammered away. Several reporters hurried over to the judge with cameras saying, "Say cheese!"

"I will not say-!" The blustering rooster was dazed by the blinding camera flashes. "...cheese."

After the courtroom had settled down, and all the witnesses had testified, the jury left to vote. Fox caught Pandafeller and the head jurist nodding to each other. _So he's being payed off, too. _Fox glanced over at Slippy, who had stopped sweating. Falco remarked, "Good to see you've finally chilled out." Slippy replied, "I ran out of sweat." The jury took their time, probably to make it seem like they were arguing, but eventually they returned. The judge motioned for the jury to state their conclusion.

"We find the accused... guilty of the attempted assassination of Chancellor Ollama." The room buzzed again with commotion, as usual.

"Any last words from the accused?"

"Yah dude. I mean sir, uh, your honor, dude." Fox stepped up to the podium the lawyers used. "I suggest the reporters step to the side and begin rolling, because we don't want them to get hurt during this escape. I would like to thank you all for coming here today, but now I must say, goodbye." The guards looked at each other, then drew their guns. Fox set his boots on the podium, launching himself in a back-flip over the judge's desk, kicked the judge's swivel-chair so that it rolled off the platform on its wheels, and then began pulling gavels out of the desk drawer and chucking them at the guards like a hammer-bro. In the distraction, the rest of his team overpowered the two bulldogs guarding them, shooting their hand-cuffs off with their guns. More guards burst through the main doors at the end of the aisle, taking aim at the prisoners and firing. Fox dove out of the judge's box to behind the bench where his team was hunkered down. Falco and Krystal were shooting at the guards, keeping them ducking behind the rows of benches. By now the spectators had emptied out of the room, with only the jubilant reporters left.

Fox took out two gavels he had stuffed in his pockets, saying, "Cover me!" He stood up to his full height and smashed the giant opaque window behind them, sending a shower of glass shards down on top of them. Krystal and Falco shot at any guard who made an attempt to shoot Fox while doing so. Fox grabbed Slippy and tossed him through the window as the amphibian shouted, "Wooohooo!" Then Krystal climbed over the window-ledge and Falco boosted himself out backwards by pushing off of the bench.

When they were outside, they hailed a taxi, and all crammed into the back.

"Corneria City Military Base, and step on it." Fox ordered.

"Oy, ain't you team Starfox?" The cab driver said.

"Right." Slippy answered. There was no use in hiding it.

"Ahh, you must have just gotten out of the trial thing. How'd it go? Well, you must've been declared not guilty, since you're here right now. Otherwise, I 'xpect you'd be in jail at this moment."

"Actually, we just-" But Slippy's teammates covered his mouth.

They had made it all the way inside a Cornerian military base to the hangar where the Great Fox was being kept. They peeked around the corner, eying the guards standing in front of the gangplank to the Great Fox, talking. They heard running footsteps coming towards them. "No time to stop!" Falco said. "Get my back: I'll take care of the two front guards." He handed his gun to Fox, grabbed a drink a surprised cook had brought in on a tray, took a swig, dumped the rest of the drinks off the tray, and took off with it. He flung the tray underneath him, skidding over to the guards on top of it. When the guards recognized who it was, they aimed their guns, shouting to alert other officers. But Falco kicked the tray up before the guards could fire, grabbed it, spun around, knocking their guns away with the tray, and dashed aboard the Great Fox. The guards bent to pick up their guns, but they were booted over by the rest of the team as they entered their mother-ship.

"We've got company!" Krystal shouted as she spotted the rest of the soldiers showing up. Fox ran to the bridge, and hurriedly turned on the engines. They began to pull forward. _Finally we can leave this dump._

His relief was spoiled when he noticed the ship slow down and begin to move backwards. _Dang._ "They've turned the tractor beam on!" Fox shouted over the intercom.

"On it!" Slippy said as he opened the rear hanger gate and climbed into his arwing. He kept his cockpit open as he waved at the guards to move out of the way. They stood dumbstruck for a few seconds before they realized what he was going to do, then sprinted out of the hangar, tossing their guns up in the air as they did so. Slippy fired a nova-bomb at the tractor beam, which immediately exploded in a giant cloud of sparks and fire.

"Yah!" Falco pumped his fist as they watched the hanger get smaller and smaller underneath them.

They all met in the bridge with Fox. "Where are we going, Fox?" Slippy asked.

"I think we'll pay a visit to our good 'ol buddy, Pepper. I don't want to stay out of this war for long." Fox said as he thought about Andross returning once again. _How many times have we killed Andross by now? Like what, three times? How did he come back this time..._

_"_Hey, where's Amanda?" Slippy said. They hadn't seen her since they left her to man the Great Fox. Come to think of it, she wasn't even at the trial! But at that moment, Amanda walked in rubbing her eyes.

"We're moving again?" She looked ridiculous wearing her lily-pad pj's.

"Where have you been all this time!?" The team shouted.

"Uh, sleeping. I must have been out for awhile. What did I miss?"

**Author's note: I actually forgot about Amanda in the last two chapters, and was too lazy to write her back in, so I just had her turn up here. Hopefully I won't forget about her in the future...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Old Friends**

An unexpected knock came to the veteran General Pepper's back door. _Strange, _his mole butler, Winston, thought to himself. _In the first place, Sir Pepper isn't expecting any __other __visitors today, and secondly, why would anyone use __the backdoor?_ He made his way to the backdoor, rubbing his fuzzy head. He opened the door, surprised to see a group of miss-matched animals on the back-porch.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes," said the fox closest to the door. "We're looking for the retired General Pepper?"

Winston asked, "May I inquire as to who you are?"

"We're Team Starfox."

"Starfox!?" The mole's eyes which were usually covered by fur and wrinkles bugged open. He suddenly noticed the a giant mother-ship sitting on the oasis' sparse, Katinan grass, the blasters in the holsters of each member, and the emblems on each of their jackets. "I... I... I'm t-terrible sorry, but... the... uh... General is... out!" And he quickly slammed the door behind him, leaning against it as he wiped his brow with his handkerchief.

Suddenly, he was sandwiched between the door and the wall as a blue falcon smashed his way through. He looked back and forth, then found the butler behind the door. "Sorry for squashing you, Sniffy. We're good friends of Pepper. Which way could we find him?"

Still stuck between the door and the wall, Winston pointed down the hall.

"Thanks."

The team stepped into General Pepper's lounge, and were surprised to see the veteran conversing with another old friend; Peppy Hare. "Peppy!" The whole team cried.

"Humph. No one calling 'Pepper'." The veteran mumbled, sucking on his lollipop.

"Fox! Slippy! So good to see you all again!" The rabbit said as he bear-hugged as much of the team as he could. "Though I wish we could have met under better circumstances. We saw the whole trial and all the news reports. Did Pandafeller really contact you?"

"Of course he did! We wouldn't suddenly turn on our home country, not after saving it three times over!" Slippy said.

Winston walked in, straightening his snout. "Oh, Winston; could you get us a bottle of my finest wine, please?" Pepper asked.

"Very good, sir."

"Now Fox," Peppy continued. "Why did you conclude Bo was staging a coup?"

"Because I was able to read his mind during the trial." Krystal spoke up.

The news was on the TV; something about Starwolf being accused of the attempted assassination of the Chancellor, but Peppy switched it off. "This is sinister... especially in another time of crisis for Lylat."

"Hey, old-timer, we've been under a rock for awhile. What's going on with Venom attacking again?" Falco asked.

"Venom is attacking again?"

"Yah; Krystal read Bo's mind, remember?"

"I'm starting to think more and more that he's under some kind-of delusion; Venom isn't the one attacking. Their Chancellor Dash Bowman is friendly to Corneria. Venom itself has been under attack." said Pepper, thoughtfully.

"Weird... Krystal, are you sure he was really thinking that?" Amanda asked.

"Well... the images running through his head were of Venomian forces and Andross."

"Andross?" Pepper said. "But he's dead! You killed him three times! Once during the Lylat Wars-"

"Nova bomb to the brain." Slippy cut in.

"A second time when he inhabited a Krazoa, or something-"

"Nova bomb in the mouth."

"And a third time on Titania when he was cloned."

"Nova bomb to the face."

"How is it possible he's back a fourth time?"

"Yah, we're running out of places to land a nova bomb."

"No idea..." Said Fox. "My father has also re-appeared several times, too."

At that moment, there was a knock on the front door. Pepper called for Winston, but he was rooting around for the wine. "Slippy, would you go?"

Slippy opened the door to find a boxer police dog waiting on the porch. "Is Pepper in?" He asked.

"Yah, but he's entertaining guests right now. Can I take him a message?"

"I just came to warn him that the Starfox mother-ship was spotted around this area. Oh, by the way, nice battleship Pepper has in his backyard. Must be fun to fly it." He turned to walk away, but then stopped. "Wait a minute... you're that toad from the team, right?"

"Uh, yah. That's who I'm known as; the toad. Everyone knows Fox, Falco, and the rest of the team by name, but not-"

The boxer drew his gun and aimed it at Slippy. "Step inside the house, and no funny business."

He marched Slippy back into the house, who mumbled, "I'm not really a toad, even; I'm a frog."

"Falco, Krystal, see what's taking Slippy so long, will ya?" Fox asked.

They left the lounge to find Slippy and the cop inside the door. The boxer smiled, pointing his gun at them, too. "Well, well, well. Looks like I found the whole team." He spoke into his wrist communicator to the rest of his squad. "Hey boys; the search is over. I found them at Pepper's estate. I got the drop on them, but I don't want to take any chances. Send some soldiers over here ASAP."

Winston walked in at that moment, carrying the wine bottle. He was behind the cop when he came in, and he stopped walking when he realized what was going on. The team began making violent gestures with their hands, indicating for Winston to hit the policemen.

"What are you doing?" The boxer asked. Winston shrugged at the team; he didn't get the message. Krystal rubbed her hands over over face in exasperation. Falco made the motion of uncorking a bottle and drinking from it, and then smashing it against something.

"You guys are messing with me." The cop said. Winston gave Falco a look that said, _This is no time for drinking! _Then he finally understood when Krystal used her mind. Winston fidgeted nervously for a few moments, and then he closed his eyes, grimaced, and brought the bottle down on the cop's head, SMASH! The boxer's eyes pointed inward towards each other, then he spun around once and fell to the floor.

"Good job, Sniffy!" Falco said. "We may make a Starfox member out of you yet!"

The mole bent down to clean up the pieces and wine with a cloth. "Oh dear. It was master's favorite wine, too."

Krystal poked her head into the lounge. "Looks like we've got more company." She said.

"Amanda; why don't you help them when the reinforcements come."

"That sounded like my best wine being smashed out there. Well... as long as it was put to good use."

"Is there anymore we can do for you, Fox?" Peppy asked.

"I was hoping you two could put in a good word for us."

"Fox, you know I've retired for good now. I don't have anymore influence in Corneria. My barrel-rolling days are over."

Fox turned to Pepper. "Well don't look at me; I retired even before he did." Pepper thought about it some more. "Corneria now has three head generals; General Snow, General Grey, and General Stealer. I believe you know General Grey, do you not?"

"As in Bill Grey?" Pepper nodded. "Yah! We know him. We fought several missions together."

"Well he's your best shot at redeeming yourself. If anyone, go to him."

Outside of the lounge, the rest of the team were waiting for the soldiers to show up. Slippy dropped an apple he was about to eat, and it rolled past the door. He shot his tongue at the fruit, but missed and hit the opposite wall. Suddenly, the door was jerked open, and a bunch of soldiers burst in, guns ready.

"Everyone dowWWWOOOAHHH-!" The front officer said as he tripped over Slippy's tongue, falling down flat on his face. The soldiers behind him fell on top of him, creating a giant dog-pile in front of the door, reminiscent of a scene from _The Hobbit_. Falco began lifting the soldiers out of the pile and shoving them over to Krystal and Amanda, who proceeded to knock them out. Once the last soldier had been lifted up, Slippy's tongue shot back into his mouth, knocking him backwards with whiplash.

"Any suggestions as to what our next course of action is?" Fox asked.

"Well, you can't return to Corneria yet, as they still got it out for yer hide." A screaming soldier was tossed over the coffee-table between the three animals, with Falco yelling as he dived after him.

"I suggest you get away for awhile; return when Corneria comes in desperate need of help." Pepper said. Slippy and a soldier staggered through the room, frantically struggling for control of a blaster that was raised in the air. They fell out of sight behind Peppy and Pepper's sofa, and a gun shot went off, shooting the leg of a table off, causing it to fall over. Slippy emerged from behind the sofa, dragging the soldier away who was apparently knocked out by the table.

"But by then it may be too late!" Fox said.

"Fox, I believe you have the power to change the course of _any_ war, at _any_ time."

Winston emerged through the kitchen door, carrying a platter of champagne glasses, and dodged about the brawlers, trying to make his way to the lounge. As Krystal brought a vase down on the head of an officer, the mole shuddered and turned around. Another soldier stepped into the house, firing some shots at Amanda, who dodged them. Winston had pressed himself against the wall, all the shots barely missing him, making holes in the outline of a mole where he had been standing. "Oh dear..." He said.

Falco and a soldier he was strangling stumbled by Winston, and Falco quickly downed the champagne glasses one by one in quick succession, still strangling the soldier with one hand. "Thanks, Sniffy. Do you have any beer?"

Amanda whacked the gun from the hand of a soldier, which landed on Winston's tray. "Gah!" he exclaimed as he tossed the tray and gun out of his paws a quickly as he could.

"Where do you suggest we go?" Fox asked.

"Fortuna, the jungle planet. It's mostly unpopulated, only a few explorers and colonists there, and it would give you some time to get an idea of the situation."

The rest of the team entered the lounge, fixing themselves up from the fray. "So what are we going to do Fox? Any action soon?"

"Afraid not. Pepper thinks we should lie low for awhile, until they can't refuse our help. We're heading for Fortuna."

"Hey Pepper," Falco said. "You mind if we take Sniffy here off your hands? He's starting to grow on me." Winston entered the room, carrying a pack of Coon's Lite. "Wait, what? Join your team?"

"I'd hate to see Winston go; he's been my favorite butler so far, you know. But sure, you can take him off my hands."

"Welcome to team Starfox, Winston." Slippy said as he slapped him on the back.

"Oh dear...I do hate space travel."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Slippy's Project**

"Fox, have you seen Slippy anywhere?" Amanda asked.

"No, I haven't seen him all day. Or even yesterday, come to think of it..."

"No body else has seen him either. And the last time I saw him was last night, when he was leaving the showers. He must have showered with his clothes on, because when he came out, he was soaking wet! He also had a far away look on his face; he didn't even answer when I called his name."

"If you're looking for Frog-face, he's in the laboratory." Falco said as he walked in. "It's no use trying to get to him; he's locked himself in."

"Ooh! I wish Krystal was here so she could read his mind and tell us what he was doing." Krystal was, uh, well, she...had made a trip to the closest colony to get some supplies, so... she wouldn't be back for a few more days... yah... conveniently.

"For once it's actually bugging me to have him gone so long." Falco added.

Winston walked into the room, polishing a glass. "Hey Winston, have you ever seen any glimpses of what Slippy's been doing?"

"Why yes, just five minutes ago."

"What was he working on?"

"Blueprints."

"Of what?" They all said at once.

"I don't know. I'm not a technician." And with that, he strolled away.

"Well that was helpful."

"I guess all we can do is wait for him to finish."

But Falco had other ideas.

Later that day, Slippy came out of the lab to use the bathroom and get a bite to eat. Falco saw his chance, and snuck into the laboratory, hiding behind some crates. A few minutes later, Slippy returned with a plate of left-overs he had quickly heated up, then he shut and locked the door behind him. He set the plate on a desk, and then re-started the computer, typing in his password. Falco watched intently, itching with anticipation. A large hologram opened on the desk, revealing a rotating model of an Arwing that seemed to be much more advanced than the current models they had.

"Ah-haa!" Falco shouted, causing Slippy to hop so high he bumped his head against the ceiling of the Great Fox. "So _that's_ what you've been up to! You're designing new Arwings!"

Slippy rubbed his head. "The Arwing 3.0, to be exact."

Falco stepped out from behind the crates, examining the data on the four side monitors. "So what have you changed?"

"I guess the cat's out of the bag. But you have to promise not to tell the others!"

"Ok." Falco said.

"First off," Slippy began, pointing to the hologram. "Each ship has six wings; three on each side. When they split for combat, they allow for more maneuverability and accuracy, and each has its own engine and hyper laser cannon. They are able to lock on to six different enemies at the same time! They also start out with two nova bombs, and have general improvements everywhere with the latest technology my dad sent me before the trial."

Falco crossed his arms as he viewed the hologram. "So how do you like it, Falco?.. Falco... FALCO!"

"Waah!" Falco exclaimed as he spun away, swinging his wings like a karate master. "Don't scare me like that, Frog-face!"

"Wait a minute," Slippy said. "Do that again."

"What?"

"Do those moves again; just the wings."

Falco swung his wings again, imitating the motion. "Why?"

Slippy turned back to the computer, typing furiously on the touch-screen and moving windows around in the hologram.

"Well what are you doing!?"

"Falco, wouldn't it be a lot more easier if your ship matched how you fought normally?"

"You mean, if like, the wings could swing around?.. Could you do it?"

"They would have to be equipped with laser edges so they could cut through metal, and they would have to be able to move 360 degrees around the ship, as well as being able to bend up and down..." Within ten minutes, Slippy had a working model of the Arwing, as well as a layout of the controls on the touch-screen. The cockpit would have similar touch-screen controls, as well as real throttles and other controls. "I'll need you to demonstrate some more moves for me. It will take a long time to program the details and exact mechanics."

"I have all the time you need."

"Amanda, have you seen Falco? He's eaten all the chicken wings again."

Amanda looked up from studying her maps. _Ironic..._

"I think we've lost another member to the laboratory." Winston remarked.

"It is strange seeing Falco spending so much time with Slippy. They've never gotten along like this since... well, never."

"I CANT STAND IT ANYMORE!" Amanda shouted, flinging her maps off the table. "Let's go see what they're up to!" And with that she marched off in the direction of the lab, followed by Fox and Winston. "Out of the way!" She gestured wildly for ROB to move away from the laboratory door.

"Miss Amanda, the door is locked; it is impossible for you to enter-"

Amanda pointed her blaster at the door.

"Oh." ROB said. He moved out of the way.

Falco and Slippy jumped when they heard the lock zapped and Amanda barge through the door. "SLIPPY ALONZO TOAD!"

Falco looked at Slippy. "Your middle name is _Alonzo_?"

"Heh heh, yah..." Slippy gulped.

Amanda began chasing Slippy around the room, knocking over boxes and scattering papers as she raved on at him, steam emitting from her pores.

"YOU HAVE BEEN NEGLECTING ME WAAAY TOO LONG! YOU COULD AT LEAST SPEND A FEW MOMENTS OF YOUR DAY WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND!" Fox watched Amanda punch the crud out of Slippy until he noticed the giant hologram of the new prototype. "Falco, what's this?" he said as his jaw dropped.

"Uh..." Falco jumped in front of the projection. "Nothin'."

"Slippy? What have you two been working on?"

By now, Amanda had vented all the energy she had, and was lying face down on the floor, panting. Slippy was rooting through the first aid kit for bandages. He stopped, suddenly brightening up. "Well, we had intended it to be a surprise, but that's the Arwing 3.0!" He then proceeded to tell Fox all the changes. "Do you have any suggestions? We still have a lot more we can add."

"Are you also upgrading the Landmaster and Blue Marine?"

"Hmmm, I hadn't thought of that..."

Fox watched as the animated model go through attack patterns with his wings. An idea hit him; "What if the ship could convert into both?"

Slippy studied the model. "But how would that work?"

"Well, for the lanmaster, the six wings could flatten out against the nose of the ship, making it stronger."

"But where would the main gun be located?."

Fox studied the hologram some more. "Could the main propulsion engine on the back do anything?"

"Yaaaaah! My dad just sent me a model of an engine that doubles as a heavy cannon. It could flip over the cockpit and face forward!"

"And the bottom two blue fins could bend forward and hold the wheels!"

"It would be easy to convert it into the Blue Marine, too."

"Amanda, do you have any ideas?"

By now she had stopped panting and was standing up. "Well... during long trips, it's hard to hold it in when you need to go to the bathroom."

"One waste utility coming right up!"

"How about you, Sniffy?"

"Me? I don't even know anything about piloting an aircraft."

"Flying... for... dummies." Slippy typed into the notes.

A few days later, Slippy had finished the plans and sent them to Space Dynamics Ltd., where his father, Beltino Toad, used his influence to get the four Arwing 3.0s built, even though the order had been placed by outlaws. They were extremely costly, but they had a lot of money left over from when they bought a new Great Fox, to replace the derpy one Fox had to purchase in place of the one Peppy sacrificed during the Aparoid invasion. The ships were sent via a secret carrier that dropped them off in a clearing, not far off from The Great Fox.

The four pilots had trekked through the jungle, anxious and excited to see their new vehicles. When they reached the edge of the clearing, Fox parted the leaves. They were immediately dazzled at their new, sparkling ships. Each one had its pilot's enigma painted onto either side; a yellow fox, a blue falcon, a purple vixen, and a green frog.

"Anyone for a test run?" Fox asked.

But the rest had already dashed for their Arwings.

**A/N: Boring? Don't worry; they enter the war next chapter.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Back in Action**

They had waited all they could bear to wait. They were tired of sitting around twiddling their thumbs. Do you even know how hard it is to twiddle non-opposable thumbs? They were tired of biting their nails in suspense, worrying that they waited too long. They were itching to try out their new Arwings. And the perfect opportunity had arisen. The countries of the Lylat System; The Republics of Corneria and Venom and the Free Federation of the Trade Planets were in desperate need of help. The War was now on the edge of the knife; either side could take the victory.

General Bill Grey and his fleet were fighting an Androssian army in Sector X, trying to cripple the rival fleet and retake the base they had lost. Sector X was perfect; it was close, and their best friend was leading the Cornerian army there. They had to act now or never.

The Starfox team was suiting up in the hangar. They equipped themselves with blasters, grenades, and energy reflectors, in case they needed to engage in ground combat. Amanda, Winston, and ROB saw them off as they climbed into their ships. Falco put on a song by Toadstep for the other two, while Slippy played Whaler Swift. Fox sat in his cockpit, gripping the thrusters as the tension built up in the song, as well as the energy built up in the engines. When the tension reached its climax, Fox yelled, "GO!" Their Arwing 3.0s shot out of the hangar, again taking up a diamond position, followed by the Amanda piloting the Great Fox.

In a few seconds, they were in range of the battle, and could see tiny flashes of light. A dog technician popped onto their radio screens, obviously Cornerian. "Warning, you are entering a combat zone; turn back while you still can, or identify yourselves."

"We're Starfox."

Silence.

Finally, Bill Grey's head appeared on their screens. "Fox, you're convicted criminals! I can't let you join us! The Senate won't allow it."

"Listen Bill, screw the Senate. We don't have to do what they say. You know they need us."

"I'm sorry Fox; there's nothing I can do. I would love to fight along side you, just like old times."

"Yah, well, we're joining anyway. I'm sorry I may be ruining your military career for doing this, but we have to help."

Bill sighed. "Ok. Screw the Senate."

"That's the Bill I know! What do you need us to do?"

"If we can take out their General's flagship, this battle is as good as won. It's towards the middle of the back of their fleet."

"Why can't you just take it out with your bombs?"

"I sent an assault force from above into their fleet, to attack their flagship, but they got pinned down. They've surrounded the flagship, but it's clear they'll have to pull out; it's just they are trapped. I can't risk it; I might hit them. I'm not going to needlessly risk the lives of my men."

"Ugh, ok." Fox said. "Amanda, cover us with the Great Fox. I'll lead the way!"

They were coming towards the side of the Androssian fleet, so they were flying perpendicular to the enemy frigates.

"General Isis!" A lizard commander said. "Four fighters and a battleship coming in on our flank!"

A female ferret appeared on the radio screen. "It's Starfox!" She screeched angrily. "Left side ships, turn to face the intruders!"

But the warships were too late. The Great Fox blasted several ships with its over-sized plasma cannons, causing them to explode. The Starfox team entered the fleet through the hole created, followed by the Great Fox. They began weaving over and under warships and frigates that were in their way, as the Great Fox continued to blast its way through.

"Stupid move, Grey," mocked the ferret. "You should have just fired the bombs and been done with me when you had the chance."

"I'm not like you, Isis."

The general grinned. "Your soft heart will be your downfall. You must learn to make sacrifices."

"I'm sacrificing enough each time I order the death of another enemy."

"Oh please, I don't need your cheesy sympathy."

As the team came out from under a battleship, they suddenly found themselves heading at full speed towards the flank of a monstrous sized frigate. They couldn't avoid it in time.

"Fire nova bombs into the hangar!" Fox ordered. Each of the team launched one of their nova bombs, consecutively, creating a whole that came out of the hanger on the opposite side. They flew through it as the ship began to break into two pieces, separating far enough so that the Great Fox could squeeze through.

"Hang on Winston," Amanda said. "Things may get a bit tight."

"Oooooooh deeeaaar..." Winston said as he covered his eyes as the Great Fox squeezed between the two halves.

"Deploy ships to trail them!" Shouted the ferret general. "Take them out!"

As the team continued deeper and deeper into the fleet, several fighters materialized behind them from out of thin air.

"Watch it! Bogeys on our tail!" Falco warned.

"Time to see what these ships can do." Fox separated his wings, turning the laser edges on. He jammed his brakes, watching an image of the rear view as they caught up to him. He then spun the wings around his Arwing, tearing into several fighters and ripping them to shreds. "Yah!"

"General! They got rid of the fighters!"

"Blast it! Open fire with the ships' turrets."

"But ma'am! We'll hit our own ships! There too close!"

"Do as I said, commander!"

The frigates began training their turrets on the mercenaries, launching deadly lasers. Blinding flashes of light streaked by the team, landing onto other battleships, wrecking them.

"Not working out as planned, eh Isis?" It was Bill's turn to chide.

"Shut your mouth, mutt!"

"This woman's crazy!" Slippy said.

They emerged into a clearing of ships where they found what was obviously the flagship, easily shooting down several Cornerian flagships that were still there. When they were noticed, it slowly turned towards them, shooting their cannons at it. The Arwings easily dodged the slow cannons, while the Great Fox wasn't so fast, sustaining several hits.

"Fox," Amanda said. "I need you to take out the side cannons; it's to dangerous for the Great Fox to make a head-on assault yet!"

"We should be able to slice off the barrels with our wings." Krystal said.

"Right, then." Fox lead the team up against the side of the flagship, starting at the front. They sliced off cannon barrels with their wings, until they had gone all the way across the side. "Ok, Amanda. Blast our way in!"

Amanda turned the Great Fox head-on to face the side of the flagship, and she sent several volleys of missiles and lasers at the base of the extended bridge. The projectiles produced a large hole in the side, cutting off the bridge from the rest of the ship.

"Nooooo!" The Ferret screamed. "Guardships; do anything you can to take them down!"

"Get ready for ground action!" Fox said as he lead his team towards the hole. They landed their Arwings within it, and they jumped out of their cockpits and climbed into the nearest hallway. They made their way to the closest elevator, and began ascending towards the command bridge.

"But Fox, they're expecting us." Krystal said.

"Yah, but from the wrong place." Fox blasted through a grate on the elevator's floor, gesturing chivalrously for Krystal to go. "Ladies first."

Krystal rolled her eyes and dropped through the whole, grabbing onto the cable.

In the command bridge, General Isis was fidgeting nervously. She and her guards had stationed themselves behind cover, with all their guns pointed at the elevator. She watched the LED counter above the elevator door tick upwards to their floor. When it reached their level, the elevator let out a pleasant ding, and began to open. She gestured for her guards to throw their grenades. There were several blinding explosions, and what remained of the car fell back down the chute, a guard watching it all they way down.

"Uh, I think they're dead?"

An explosion shook the bridge, creating a hole in the floor. The Starfox team jumped out of it on jet boots, and they knelt around the hole in a circle as they released a volley of blasts at the enemy.

Isis grabbed a nearby guard and held him in front of her, flailing. Slippy hit the guard with a blast from his lasers, and the general disgustedly dropped the guard and jumped away from him, only to turn around to look right down Falco's gun barrel. She growled at the blue falcon as she dropped her blaster.

"Slippy; disable all the ships you can and fire all guns on this thing."

"Which ones?"

"I don't care which ones; forwards, backwards, anywhere, just fire them! Oh, and get me Bill on the radio."

Bill's face appeared on the screen. "So, I can see that you have accomplished your mission."

"We've disabled most of the ships. You can now just stroll in hear whenever you want."

The Starfox team met with General Grey in Sector X's base. They entered the conference room, and were surprised to see Beltino Toad conversing with some technicians.

"Dad!" Slippy exclaimed.

"Well, if it isn't my son and soon to be daughter-in-law. Nice to see you again! Hey, do you like the ships?"

"They're amazing!" Fox said.

"Hey, dad, what are you doing here?"

"I got board of the Cornerian Defense Force and decided to work in the research division. I've found some very strange things here, that may give us some clues."

"Like what?"

"Numerous things. I've actually found several Venomian artifacts that were left over from the original base Andross had here."

"Yah, that was destroyed by Andross' secret weapon that he was building here." Falco said.

"Actually, I found that Andross did not build it here. He was having it built in Sector Z."

"But that's too far away! It would have taken a year to fly out her."

"Yes, unless it took a warp. Among the wreckage in Sector Z left over from that giant battle against space pirates years ago, I discovered pieces of technology that could only have been from a base Andross built there. He must have built a warp there, too."

"Weird..."

"I also found that Andross conducted many experiments with warps while he was building up his army on Venom, mostly on the one in Meteo. Though the puzzle pieces are starting to fit together, we still are missing a lot of them. Like who created Sectors X, Y, and Z? They definitely are not natural. However, the Sectors provide the perfect conditions for warping. There is also the fact that the Sectors seem to change color each new battle we are in"

"That's just because Miyamoto had a different company develop each game."

Every one looked at Slippy as if he was crazy.

Fox turned to Beltino. "Do you think Andross sent a bunch of his minions into the warps to wait out the battle?"

"No, it wouldn't make sense; he wouldn't let himself die. Unless Andross himself entered the warp, and we know you killed him."

"But how could he have come back so many times? Along with my father?"

"Another missing piece."

At that moment, Bill Grey walked in. Fox, Falco, and Bill greeted each other by slapping each other on the back. "Been a long time, Fox."

"About working for the army..."

"Don't sweat it Fox. If you turn up to help, they can't deny you."

"Any ideas where we can go next?"

Bill looked at a holographic image of the Lylat system. "Hmm..." He zoomed in on the ice planet, Fichina. "Turrick Ollama has gotten pinned down in Fichina, when he was meeting with some ambassadors from the Free Federation of the Trade Planets. You could easily redeem yourselves by saving him."

"Well team; pack your parkas."

The whole team groaned, shivering at the thought of the planet.

"Hey, Fox," Beltino Toad said. "I would like to tag along with you for awhile. If I stick with you, I can get a chance to do a lot more research on the warp project."

"If you don't mind a little action."

"Glad to have you aboard, dad!"

**A/N: If you can guess what any of the puns in this story are of, I'll mention you in the next chapter. Example: Turrick Ollama is a pun on Barrack Obama.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: The Rescue**

"All right team, has everybody suited up?" Fox asked as he walked out of the hallway and into the hangar. He stopped short, stunned. "What are you wearing?"

His other teammates grinned, sheepishly.

"Falco! That is the biggest parka I have ever seen! How are you going to fit inside your Arwing! Krystal, you look like a marshmallow in that fluffy fur! How can you even see through it! It covers your face! And where's Slippy? Slippy!"

A muffled voice came from a ball of blankets Fox had mistaken for laundry. "No way, Slippy. That tops it all." Slippy was rolled in about twenty blankets, which were wrapped around him tightly, with two boots sticking out of the bottom, his gloved hands barely protruding from the sides, and two paper towel rolls for his eyes to see through. Slippy made a vain attempt to stand at attention, but his hand couldn't reach his forhead, and when he knocked his feet together, he lost his balance and fell on his side, rolling away.

"This is disgraceful; unacceptable; there is no way I'm letting you go out there like that. Fichina may be cold, but we have to retain some dignity!"

Falco stopped Slippy from rolling too far with his boot.

"Off! It all comes off! You can only wear one coat!" Fox was surprised to see how many layers the three had been wearing. As they shed them, electric heating pads, hot water bottles, and hand warmers dropped to the ground. After about five minutes, the whole team was dressed in only one coat.

"Now you can board your ships."

As they turned to go, Fox noticed an electrical cord dangling from Slippy's coat. He put his foot down on it, and out fell a mini-sized heater. Fox glared at Slippy.

The team descended in their Arwings to the frigid Fichinan landscape. It was mostly covered in snowy mountains and iced-over lakes, but there were also several evergreen forests as well as the occasional settlement. The sun reflected off of the glaciers in a sparkling display of light, which, unfortunately, blinded the team.

"I've got the perfect song for this." Falco said as he played a techno song by Toadstep. It wasn't long before they spotted a large blockade surrounding the largest (actually the only) city they had seen so far on the planet. It was surrounded by Androssian warships and frigates.

"We have to get through that?" Slippy asked.

"Right. They don't want anyone getting in or out of the city. The only reason they haven't taken the city yet is because of the anti-aircraft cannons pounding them when they get close." Amanda said over the radio.

"Our job is to break through, find the Chancellor, and then get out again." Fox stated.

"Slippy, watch out!" Krystal warned.

From out of nowhere, a missile materialized in front of Slippy, who barely had enough time to spin out of the way before it shot passed him. "Whoa! What was that? I didn't even see it until it was right under my nose!"

"Beltino, did you see that?"

"Yes, but this is nothing new to this war. I have seen these warp missiles during several battles so far. When they are launched, they enter the warp dimension, and then shift back into ours when they near their target. I believe you have also seen fighters with warping capabilities in Sector X."

"Hey, Fox, remember the Gorgon we fought in Area 6? It could warp like that, too."

"Area 6, as in, the Lylat Wars?" Beltino asked.

"Yes."

"Hmm...Gorgon must have been a prototype Andross was using to test his short range warping technology. Though you defeated it, it still was a success, in that, the device worked."

"So Andross can just warp back and forth between Lylat and his warp zone whenever he wants too?" Fox asked.

"I doubt that. The warps his ships use are only temporary warps, meaning they are not actually capable of accessing warp zones without a gate. That's why he needs to control the gates in Sectors Z and X. They are his only way out and in. However, in the short time we possessed the Sector X gate before General Isis retook it, none of our attempts to send drones into his warp zone actually worked. They just ended up at Sector Z."

"Love to continue this talk Mr. Toad, but things just got a little bit rougher." The team was now barraged by a hail of lasers and missiles, which forced the team out of their diamond formation.

"It's now or never, team. Boost as fast as you can to get past those warships! When we get inside, we'll be safe inside the protection of the anti-air cannons and their shield."

The team set their boosters to max as their Arwings streaked over the sparkling white terrain. _Come on, come on... _Fox thought, gritting his teeth as they narrowly dodged missile after missile and laser after laser.

"Yes!" The team zoomed between two warships, passing the blockade into the safe area provided by the capital's shield.

A Fichinan technician appeared on-screen. "Team Starfox, you have proved yourselves to be hostile to the Lylat Alliance, and by entering a war-zone with military vehicles, you are forcing us to shoot you down."

"Whoa! Wait! We've come to see the Chancellor safely to Corneria! We're here to help!"

"More like you have come here to capture the Chancellor, or to attempt to assassinate him again. We repeat; you are the enemies of the Lylat Alliance."

"Hey, we just took out a whole Androssian army in Sector X; haven't we proven our loyalty already? General Grey himself suggested we come here." Falco argued.

"General Grey's decisions are not in favor of the Chancellor and were misguiDEEED!"the tech was interrupted when Turrick Ollama himself pushed him shouting out of the chair and off-screen, taking his place. Beads of sweat dotted his brow, and he was wiping his head with a handkerchief.

"Listen, Fox; I am prepared to pay you any amount. Even double what Andross is paying you! Just get me out of this frozen wastela-" He looked off-screen, probably noticing he was in the presence of several Fichinan diplomats. "Uh, I mean this... uh... charming winter wonderland!"

"Thank you for finally coming around, Chancellor! We will be down to pick you up shortly."

"Can't let you do that, Starfox." Guess who.

Fox put his face in his hands. He had just heard another phrase from his list of top ten most annoying quotes. They were joined in the city's airspace by four Wolfen piloted by the Starwolf team.

"I thought you guys were in jail."

"Well after Andross realized that we were more likely to join him than the Cornerians, he broke us out of jail and hired us." Wolf answered.

"It is all rather comical, you see," mused Leon. "First Andross tries to frame us by tricking us into assassinating the Chancellor, and now he is paying us to do the very thing he was setting us up for. We could have avoided this escapade if he had asked us nicely in the first place."

"Though I don't mind meeting your charming teammates again." Panther purred.

"I, on the other hand, have never meet your team before. I would like to meet the legendary Fox Mcloud, who I have always been an admirer of." said a new voice.

"Allow me to introduce my team's newest member, Jet Raven."

Fox sighed. "Ok; Krystal, Slippy, you two go down to pick the Chancellor up. Me and Falco-"

"Ah, you mean, 'Falco and I.'" corrected Winston from the Great Fox.

"Yah, whatever. We will stay up here and keep these guys occupied."

"Why did you choose me to go down Fox; are you jealous?" Krystal teased.

"I... uh... no. It's just that I can't stand the cheesy passes Panther makes."

"Why did you send me down Fox?" Slippy said as he jokingly batted is eyelashes.

"Very funny, Slippy, now get going."

"Fox, are you really going to fight two against four?" Amanda asked.

"Are you serious, Amanda? Of course we can! Too many pilots would just get in the way." Falco said, bragging.

"Jet, why don't you prove yourself in your first mission and assassinate the Chancellor for us, hmm? We might as well even out the dogfight just a little bit."

"Right on it, Wolf." said the young raven as his Wolfin broke away from the rest to descend into the city. Thick clouds were setting in, forcing the team to rely on radar more than sight.

"Now that we've gotten the formalities out of the way, let's get down to the dirty business, shall we?" Wolf flew one way while Panther and Leon took the other.

"Hah! Two guys ganging up on me? I'll take that as a compliment!" Falco said.

"Sorry to pop your bubble, bird, but Wolf just wants to take Fox alone." Leon informed him.

"Oh. Well, one enemy, two enemies, or twenty enemies; it makes no difference!"

"Falco, let's play chicken with them; if they get too close-"

"Got it!"

They spun their Arwings to face their opponents and charged them head on, lasers blaring.

"Sorry Fox; you can't scare me." Wolf said as he fired back at him, barrel-rolling to deflect the lasers.

"Better pull away now, pigeon," Panther teased, "Or we'll have to ram you head on, and that may get a little messy."

But no one backed down.

When had nearly collided, Fox yelled, "Now!"

They split their wings apart and raked them along their opponents' Wolfin, slicing off wings, guns, and paint jobs.

"What the heck?"

"Sneaky bird!"

"My rose! Look what you did to it! You will pay for this!"

"Well this evens out the fight a lot."

"I should have seen a trick up your sleeve, Pup!"

Once again, the Wolfin began to trail Fox and Falco, though they were crippled from the last attack.

Krystal and Slippy landed in the hangar of the embassy building, jumping out of their ships and into the warmth of the heated compound.

"Mmm, I didn't expect it to be this warm."

Slippy drew out several crazy looking weapons from his cockpit, strapping a few onto his back and carrying two more in his hands.

"Uh, Slippy dear, I don't think you'll need all those weapons."

"Why not?"

"Think; who will we be fighting?"

"Hmm... the raven kid?"

"Yes. He's not going to be slow and stupid enough for you to hit him with those. They'll way you down."

"Fine." Slippy tossed a few guns back into his Arwing, leaving two strapped to his back and one Gatling gun in his hands. "Now I'm ready!" He said as he brandished his gun about.

Krystal laughed as she pulled up a map of the compound on her wrist hologram that mapped out their way.

"Follow me."

They made their way through the halls of the embassy, heading for the central counsel room.

"It's just down two more hallways, Slippy," She said as she looked ate the hologram. "We should be there in about-"

She ran into a dark figure, falling down on her rump. When she looked up she was staring down the barrel of Jet's blaster.

"Well that was easy." He grinned.

"Watch-it, crow, or I'll turn you into chicken soup!" Slippy aimed his Gatling gun.

"Have at it, chubby!"

But Krystal flipped herself off the floor and kicked Raven in the beak. He staggered back, then raised his blaster and fired several shots in their direction. Krystal dove into an almost empty storage room, but Slippy was unwilling to run.

"Lemme at 'em! I'll show this bird-brain not to mess with- AAAH!" Krystal grabbed him by his jacket and pulled him in after her. They quickly hid in opposite sides of the room, behind boxes and crates. Jet cautiously entered the room, poised to dodge at any moment.

"You can't hide for long." He said. They studied him as he stopped in the middle of the room and looked around for any place they could hide. He was wearing a black fedora and trench coat, with a gun and ammo belt slung across his chest. His wings sparkled with hints of silver. _Some concealed weapon?_

Breaking the silence, Slippy hopped up onto a crate and set his Gatling gun ablaze. Jet whirled and deflected the lasers with an energy shield, setting his feet firmly on the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Krystal come running towards him. He spun around, smashing his deflector into Krystal, which sent her flying into some empty boxes. He then jumped onto the ceiling, his magnetized boots holding him up, and began spinning around, sending metal feathers flying from his wings, a few lodging into Slippy. Suddenly purple beams began constantly streaming from each feather, creating a deadly web. Slippy quickly pulled out the feathers and stamped them out.

Krystal dashed through the beams, which rapidly burned her skin. She slid underneath Jet, and fired several lasers into the ceiling panel to which he was attached. He fell down with the panel, but quickly recovered, and whacked Krystal away with the panel. His first gun destroyed by the beams, Slippy pulled out his grenade launcher, and fired one at Jet. He caught the grenade in his hands, softly enough so that it didn't blow. His eyes widened, and he tossed it back to Slippy.

"Gaaahh!" He croaked as he also caught it, and flung it out of the storage room to where it blew up in the hall. Jet's next move was to jump up into the small area between the ceiling of the storage room and the floor of the room above. Slippy gave Krystal a boost up, and then hopped in after them himself. Now they were forced to crawl on all fours as they hunted around the ceiling area for Jet.

"Fox, I take back what I said earlier!"

"What? About two many fighters getting in the way, or about the number of enemies not mattering?"

"Uh, both I guess!" Falco rolled to the side to dodge a burst of lasers.

"Dang it Falco! Wolf is right behind me!"

"Yah? Well I got two on my tail feathers so it's not like I can help. Use your engine's cannon function, remember?"

"Oh... yah..." Fox's Arwing slowed down to charge up enough energy, then it fired a powerful laser that hit Wolf right in the face.

"YAAA! These guys have lasers comin' out of everywhere!" Wolf exclaimed as his Wolfin spun out of control.

"Don't worry, Wolf; I'm sure you'll get a chance to upgrade your ships, too. You''ll have a lot of time in solitary." Fox dove down after the struggling Wolfin, boosting to catch up with it. He shot in front of Wolf, severing off the three wings on his Wolfin's side, and then braked to slice of his other three wings as Wolf passed him. Wolf smashed his fists against his controls in anger, but the next sensation he had was of his Wolfin crashing into a snow drift on a hill, and sliding down the opposite side.

"All right, now that you got rid of Wolf, could you get rid of this Panther Castanet, or whatever his name is..."

"Shut up, Falco Linguine!"

"Well that's hittin' below the seat-belt!"

"Fine, Panther," Leon said. "Take out the other male in that annoying love triangle of yours, and I will get the bird-brain. Oh yes, and watch his rear. He may poop something out at you."

"Uhh... si, senor." Panther headed in the direction of Fox.

"Ok, Leon, let's end this." Falco pulled a somersault over Leon, and then began firing at him, though he couldn't land a hit on him.

"Lasers; Pah! They cannot do a thing to the Great Leon!"

But Falco pulled a new trick that he and Slippy came up with. He detached his all six wings from his Arwing, and launched them forward at Leon. They took out his wings one by one, then returned to Falco's ship and re-attached.

"You may have taken us out this time, but now that we know your tricks, next time will not go so easily." Leon spat as he prepared for a crash landing

"What do you mean, hermano; 'They have taken _us _out'? Panther Caroso said. "I will not go down without a-!" He turned to face the oncoming Fox, who was now joined by Falco. "Panther, this is one of those times..." He mumbled to himself. "I give up!"

Krystal and Slippy were still crawling around in the ceiling, hunting for Jet.

Slippy stood up. "Hey! I can stand up without bumping my head!"

"Slippy, that means you're short. Now quiet!" They made their way through the ceiling, climbing over pipes and brushing away cobwebs. An image flashed through Krystal's mind. "Slippy, duck!"

"What do you mean, 'duck'? I don't get any shorter if I bend over." He didn't have to; Krystal kicked him out of the way as several lasers flew right through were he had been standing. Krystal shinned her wrist band at the direction from where the shots had came from, catching the Jet's tail before the he dove away.

"Slippy, we need some light!"

Slippy tossed a flare in the same direction, lighting up the ceiling space with a green light, just in time to spot Jet fling several metal feathers at Krystal, which lodged in her arm. She growled as she scrambled after the raven, who was crawling away. With a final leap, she grabbed a hold of his boot and yanked him towards her. Jet kicked her away, and did the same to Slippy when he attempted to tackle him. Finally he pulled out a grenade and started it,

"Oh no you don't!" Krystal batted the grenade away, which Slippy caught. He looked from side to side for a place to throw it, then finally blasted a hole in the ceiling, and he lobbed the grenade through. The explosion blew them through the ceiling, sending them crashing into a hallway below with scraps of rubble. A piece of plaster fell on Jet's head knocking him out. Krystal and Slippy groaned, staring up at the hole they had fallen through.

"Finally! Took your sweet time, didn't you?"

They sat up to find themselves at the feet of Chancellor Turrick Ollama and two bodyguards.

"Well, no matter; I can't be too picky. Off we go then!" And they set off down the hallway towards the hangar. They both stood up, and Slippy slung Jet over his shoulder. They then followed behind the Chancellor.

They met up with the rest of the Starfox and Starwolf teams in the hangar.

"Hey, Chancellor, what do you want us to do with these guys?" Fox asked.

"Well..." He considered for a moment. You've worked with these guys before, haven't you?"

"Yah, we have."

"Hey! I'm not working with this pup no matter what you do!"

"Hmm... I won't make you do that, but I'll offer you a deal."

"A deal?" Wolf's ears perked up.

"Fight for the Cornerian army, and I will let you live, as well as paying you."

"I guess we don't have much of a choice."

"First mission; see me safely off this ice cube."

"I have just the plan..."


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: James**

Fox was in Corneria... at least, he assumed it was. He didn't care. It didn't matter.

He felt groggy. He was stumbling about like he was in a drunken spell. His vision was blurred, as if he was viewing the city streets through water. He wandered around, brushing past people who acted like he wasn't even there. He tripped over his feet and sprawled onto the ground, his vision bursting with black spots. But, out of all the chaos of the busy street, a paw reached down for him, out of the crowd.

His eyes followed the arm all the way up to the figure, and his conscious was immediately cleared of dizziness. The scene of the bustling street crystallized in his vision, and the sounds of the passing hover-cars and talking people became distinct. The figure had cleared him of his daze, somehow. He accepted the helping paw and was immediately pulled back up.

"What's wrong with you, son? You have to learn how to control this world. Trust me. Everything will be a whole lot clearer... and fun."

"What the heck are you talking about, dad?"

"Ah-ah-ah! Rule number number two; never tell the subject he's-" But James stopped himself, doing a face-palm. "Almost forgot rule number four; don't mention the ru-" Again he caught himself. "Well, let's just get on with it, shall we?"

James turned and began walking down the street, with Fox following at his side.

"Do you know what we're doing?" His father asked.

"Yah, we're out getting some lunch at the Twitching Lobster Cafe. You made a promise to eat out with me after your last mission"

"Good, good, you're completely conscious."

"Wait a minute, we never actually got to eat out; you never came back."

"Oops. Uh, heh heh, you're a little bit too conscious. Let's just say... I didn't actually take that mission." He mumbled something about confusing subjects, then waved his paws around in front of them, blurring the scenery in a swirl of colors, making Fox dizzy. When he stopped, they were at their destination. They sat down at an outside table that looked out onto the main plaza of Corneria. A waiter came by with menus, but James waved him off. He flipped over the table so that it spun 360 sideways in the air, and landed on its feet again, fully set with food. They started in.

"So, Fox, I know this isn't the kind of talk you would want to have in a father and son outing... but I need to talk to someone about it. I could talk to smarter people, but I care more about you."

"Was that an insult?"

"Yes. But let's talk about desire."

"Uh, what desire?"

"Any desire. In fact, all of your desire. What do you want? What are you working to obtain?"

Fox thought a moment. "Uh... food... anything that's fun... games... excitement-"

"Can you try going a little deeper?"

"Well, friends then. Love. I want to fight for something."

His father waved him off. "True, but, something even deeper."

"What else is there? That's it."

James sighed. "Okay, so, to recap, you have a desire for food, challenge, excitement, friendship, girls, and a purpose, correct?"

"Uh, yah... I guess."

"And why do you desire these things? Besides physical necessity."

"They give me pleasure... they satisfy my senses... friends make me feel wanted...besides that, I don't know what."

"What about your desire for meaning?"

"I don't know... it's just... _there._"

"You see, Fox, that's what I can't figure out. I want a reason to hang on right now, a reason for not just letting go." As he said this, their peaceful surroundings flickered, showing flashes of a fiery alternative. "You don't want me to let go Fox..." He said, clenching his fists.

"I don't get it."

"What? Why we're in Corneria when you're really off in space and I'm Andross knows where, or why you're eating at a cafe with me when by now I'm pretty much dead, or how I have so much control over the scenery, (you've actually been eating air for the past couple of minutes) why we're discussing philosophy on a father and son outing, or why we have a desire for a purpose?"

"Uh... the last one."

"Obviously, because we were meant to do something. We haven't created this delusion ourselves! Tell me Fox, what is our purpose? What are you fighting for?"

"Pleasure, and for everyone else's pleasure."

"But when you have everything, are you ever satisfied? Every single one of your desires?"

"Of course."

"Let's say you finally kill Andross. You get rich. You never have to fly or battle again; only for fun. You marry Krystal, have tons of kids. All your friends are happy. You party for the rest of your life. Will you be satisfied?"

"Yes."

"I, say, not! Look, if being happy was all that people longed for I would buy a bottle of beer and get drunk. Anyone can do that. That's not our goal; that's not all we desire."

"Look, I'm tired of this. There are too many things I don't understand about this whole place! How did you get all this food, why aren't you dead, and for Pete's sake, why are you wearing those stupid sunglasses?"

James scratched his forehead. "You know, maybe this will help you to see with my eyes. It may get a little freaky, but don't worry; it'll wear off. So you want to know _why_ I've always worn sunglasses whenever I've appeared to you, Fox?"

"Yah, why?"

"Because this would happen." And with that he pulled his sunglasses off, and Fox stared into his blinding, glowing eyes. Everything went white, and then Fox found himself in some sort-of parallel dimension: He was still at the cafe in Corneria, but everything had changed. Everything except the animals walking around became a ghostly black and white. The people were just muted versions of themselves. Their clothes floated about them in tattered wisps, their faces seemed to be hollow masks, with only a dark emptiness inside. But they weren't just walking from store to store as they had been; they were crawling or limping around, acting very strange. Fox realized they were searching for something. They groped about blindly on the sidewalks, peeking under tables and into trashcans. Fox's pulse raced, and he wanted the image to stop. He looked back at where his father had been sitting, but he was gone.

"No..." he said. "Don't leave me here. Don't leave me here! DAD!"

The next thing he knew was that he had bolted upright in his bed. His heart was racing, and he had soaked his clothes in sweat. Something sticky was trickling down his forehead. He jumped out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. He flipped the light switch on, and stared at the mirror. He gasped when he saw an empty, masked version of himself staring back at him.

"Fiiiind iiit..." Fox barely heard the whispering voice.

"I will..." He whispered back.

Finally, whatever had happened to him wore off, and his vision returned to normal. He was staring at his normal self in the mirror.

_What the heck happened?_

He wasn't dreaming anymore; this was reality... at least he hoped it was. They had broken through the blockade on Fichina, and had safely seen the Chancellor back to Corneria. Wolf and his team had been sent on some mission to Titania, but Fox didn't know why. And now they were drifting somewhere out in space, bidding their time for a new assignment.

Fox tried to go back to sleep, but it was useless. His mind was racing with the events of the dream and the images he had seen. He glanced over at the glowing clock. Of course day and night had no effect on the Great Fox, which was flying through deep space, but the ship did have a time system that was based on their sleeping habits, which still followed a rough 24-hour period. _5:00,_ Fox thought. _Might as well just get up._

He changed out of his pj's and into his regular clothes, then exited his room. The night cycle of the Great Fox had shut off the overhead lights, leaving only the dim multicolored led lights that ran along the walls. He walked through the interior of the ship until he came to the kitchen. He flipped on the lights and found Krystal eating a donut and drinking coffee.

"Good morning, Fox." She said, looking up.

"Uh... mornin'."

Krystal eyed his forehead.

"Fox, you're bleeding."

"What?"

Krystal grabbed a napkin and walked over to Fox. She wiped the napkin over his head and held it for him to see.

"How did this happen?"

"I... I don't know."

"What do you mean, 'you don't know'? Did you get amnesia, or something?"

"Must have. But it's probably fine. My head doesn't even hurt!"

"Really Fox; this is serious! We're going to the med bay!" Krystal grabbed Fox's arm and dragged him to the Great Fox's medical facility, where they sat down on a cot. Krystal began wiping the blood from his head with a damp cloth.

"Honestly, you have to be more careful! Somehow you smashed your head, but were able to stagger back to you bed for a good night's rest! You smeared blood all over the top of your head. I'm sure we can see what happened if we review the security... cameras..." But she trailed off.

"Krystal?"

"It's your wound..."

"What about it?"

"It's not there."

"What do you mean it's not there?"

"I cleaned off all the blood, and your head is fine! Not a scratch on it!" She grabbed a scanner on a poseable arm, and positioned it above Fox's head. "This doesn't make sense." When the scan was complete, they checked the results.

"Still nothing! Is this even your blood?" She ran a test on the DNA, but it was Fox'ss. "This is so strange... are you sure you don't know anything that could have caused it? Anything even... paranormal?"

Fox quickly debated telling the dream. On the one hand, Krystal would think he was crazy, but on the other, she had asked him about anything paranormal. But he wasn't ready to talk about his dad with her. Not yet.

"Ok, this is kind-of crazy, but... I had a dream last night."

"About what? Anything that could even remotely relate to your head? Like a battle or something where you got a head wound?"

"No, nothing like that."

"Then what does the dream have to do with it?"

"It was the nature of the dream. It was so, so...real."

"People have realistic dreams all the time."

"No, it was _super _real. I could see everything crystal clear, I could feel everything, hear everything, smell everything, and taste everything. It all fit together. There were details that stayed the same all throughout the dream."

"Well, what did happen in the dream?"

Fox hesitated.

"It was... about my dad."

Krystal could tell it wouldn't be the smartest thing to pry.

"Oh..."

Fox looked down at the floor.

"He was talking to me at a cafe." He volunteered. "It was what would have been if he hadn't gone on that mission, and -"

"It's Ok, Fox." Krystal held his paw in hers. "You don't have to talk about it."

"No, please. This is important. I want to know, too. I think you can help me." He continued. "I was stumbling around in a real dream, real, as in, the cloudy, average dream you get where everything is always changing and incomprehensible. Then, out of nowhere, my father appeared." He swallowed. "As soon as he helped me up, off of the ground, the dream suddenly solidified. It became something more than a dream. He took me to the cafe he had promised we'd go to, but never were able to. We ate and talked..."

"About what?" Krystal ventured.

"Deep things that made my head hurt, the kind of things that you wouldn't expect to talk about when you eat out with your dad. We talked about things we needed in life. He gave me the third degree, asked me about everything I wanted, but nothing satisfied him. He said there was something more, and he wanted me to find it."

"Was this like your dad? Did you have conversations like this before?"

"No, we never talked about stuff like this. My dad was acting really weird. He kept mentioning rules and subjects, and he kept demonstrating his control over the dream. Then he took off his sunglasses, and everything went freaky..." Krystal could feel his pulse racing now.

"All the people on the corner... were empty. They were ghosts, or shells of themselves. And they were looking for something... too..." He began to shiver.

"And when I woke up, I ran to the bathroom mirror, and I was... just like them!"

Krystal shushed him, and put an arm around his shoulders, comforting him. A tear dripped down Fox's eye.

"This is ironic. Some strong, comforting boyfriend I am."

"Well, when I have crazy dreams about my parents, I know you'll be there."

When everyone was seated for breakfast, they all asked Fox about their next assignment.

"I really don't know." he told them. "The Beltino Orbital Gateway has been stolen by Andross, and moved somewhere into Sector Y. General Stealer is massing her forces to reclaim the gate, but it may take awhile."

Beltino Toad spoke up, but it had nothing to do with his gate. "I think now is an opportune time to explore the center of the Meteo asteroid field. Researchers have been waiting for the right technology to explore it. We have lost contact with every drone we sent in, and our scanners can only pick up so much. But what we have picked up, is remarkable. We know there is a large chunk at the center of the asteroid field, much larger than any of the other chunks. It could have remnants of an ancient civilizations, or even some of Andross' forces left behind during the Lylat Wars. But even more surprising; we may have picked up life forms."

"Sounds like a good idea to me. Alright, ROB, set course for-"

"I heard you, I heard you."

**A/N: Thanks bryan mccloud for reminding me to connect the chapters. It has been taken care of. On to chapter 9!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: The Secrets of Meteo Part I**

"ROB! Here comes another one!" Slippy shouted.

ROB jerked the controls of the Great Fox hard to the left, barely avoiding an asteroid. The team was gathered in the bridge of their mother-ship, flinching, and in Slippy's case, cowering in the corner.

"Slippy, you do not have to warn me every time we are on a collision course with an asteroid. I am equipped with sensors for that function." ROB informed him. "Also, your blood pressure is dangerously high, in fact, nearly as high as Fox's when he first met Krystal. I would suggest you relax."

Slippy did not relax, but at least he shut up. The ship shook violently as it collided with an asteroid.

"Fox," said ROB. "I suggest we do not go any deeper into the field. Due to the size of the Great Fox, it is likely to collide with more asteroids. The field is getting thicker."

"But we have to make it to the center of Meteo!" Beltino said. "Couldn't we just use your Arwings? They are a lot more agile."

"Ok, I guess we could. It will still be dangerous." He turned to ROB. "Pull the Great Fox back to a safe distance, and we'll continue deeper in our ships. Slippy, you take your dad, and Krystal, you take Amanda. Winston;"

Winston froze in the middle of the doorway as he was sneaking out of the bridge.

"You're with Falco."

The team carried on in their Arwings, which worked splendidly in the Meteo's dense field...

Until they got even deeper.

"Dad, we can't go on like this! I've seen my life flash before my eyes five times now!" As they rounded an asteroid, they came up on another huge one, which Slippy barrel-rolled to avoid. "Make that six times."

"Well, maybe if you would just stop covering your eyes every few seconds, sonny, you'd be able to dodge them all."

"Slippy! Watch out!" half of the team yelled.

Slippy opened his eyes to notice a gigantic asteroid coming straight towards him. He did what every calm and cool toad would do. Press random buttons.

His ship transformed from a jet into a tank in a matter of seconds, firing hover propulsions to the point where it could safely land on the asteroid. It drove across the surface of the planetoid object, magnetically adhering to it. The team gaped at Slippy.

"How did you do that?" Fox asked.

"Amphibian instinct." Slippy replied.

"Luck." His dad said.

When his Arwing reached the opposite side, Slippy transformed it back into its air mode and took off.

"Well if it worked for Slippy," Falco said, "anyone can do it." As the team flew deeper and deeper into the field, they repeated Slippy's maneuver whenever they were unable to dodge a large asteroid. The team came up onto a larger asteroid, bigger than they had seen yet. When they rounded the edge, they looked out at a giant complex of rocks that seemed to be miraculously held together.

"That's it!" Beltino exclaimed. "You found it! Meteo Crux"

"Its just a bunch of rocks..." Falco said.

"Nonsense! This is the discovery of the century! Well... maybe. But we can finally find out what is going on with the Meteo field! Think of what treasures we could find! Possibly even life!"

"Well, the only life forms you could find would be some of Andross' soldiers hanging out."

"I don't care if we find a chicken on a bicycle! Fox, fly up towards that crater near the top left of the formation! We can land safely there! There seems to be room enough."

As the team approached the opening, Beltino remarked, "Strange, it looks like all the other asteroids are staying a certain distance away from it. Something's definitely going on..."

"Hey, Beltino..." Falco said. "That's no crater up ahead. It looks more like a deep hole."

"Then we have found some cave system from the remnants of Lylat's failed ninth planet that almost formed."

When they entered the hole, their ships all adhered themselves to roughly the same side.

"Fox, do you feel that?"

"What?"

"Gravity!"

"On the inside of an asteroid? No way!"

"This is getting weirder and weirder."

They stepped out of their Arwings in their space suits, and unloaded Beltino's equipment. Amanda shined her light down into the hole.

"How far does this thing go?"

"Let's find out." Beltino said as he lead the way. Soon the ground they were walking on changed from rocky mineral to stone brick. "This must have been from an ancient civilization; this proves people have been here before. Not recently, but thousands of years ago. This wasn't a failed planet... it was destroyed."

"I'd hate to see what blew it apart." Falco mused.

"Beltino, look!" Krystal had shined her light all around them in an over-head arc. "Stop looking at the floor; look at this!"

They illuminated the walls and ceiling with their lights and found it to be a square tunnel, the walls of which were covered in ancient reliefs.

"Remarkable!" Beltino said. "We may have the history of the ninth planet here!" He rushed over to a wall and began examining the hieroglyphs.

"Hey, Beltino, can we just go a little deeper before we start combing over everything?"

"Oh, yes... of course."

They continued on into the tunnel, until Slippy tripped over something.

"Smooth, Slippy." Falco teased.

"Ow! What was that?"

They all shined their lights on the Slippy's stumbling block; an android pig.

"We weren't the first ones here..." Krystal said.

"Slippy, can you turn that on?"

Slippy examined the robot thoughtfully. He looked it up and down, and circled it. He finally paused in front of it, pondering. He settled on pressing its snout. It worked. Its eyes lit up a bright pink, and it stood up off of the floor.

"Good evening/afternoon/night. I am BAC 000 n, but my masters just call me 'Bacon.' How may I help you?"

Beltino stepped in front of the pig and immediately began talking to it.

"A pleasure meeting you, Bacon. I am Beltino Toad, Research Director of the Cornerian Defense Force. Please tell me who your 'masters' are."

"I am owned by the AWG, or the Advanced Weapons Guild."

Beltino's face darkened. "Andross used to work in that company. He was one of the two head scientists, only second to his fellow scientist and the big cheese." Beltino explained.

"Who were the boss and the other scientist?" Amanda asked.

"The owner of AWG was Bill Goats. As for the other scientist..." He trailed off.

"Who was he?"

"I uh... can't remember." Beltino finished. He turned back to Bacon. "What business has brought you here?"

"I cannot disclose that information. It would be harmful to the projects of the AWG."

"May I remind you that I am a member of the Cornerian Military. It would not be wise to withhold information from me, as the AWG is often employed by the Cornerian Defense Force."

The android was silent.

"For Pete's sakes!" Falco said, exasperated. "Come-on, Sniffy; let's take a look around. I hate talk." Falco turned and started walking down the dark, massive hallway.

"Mr. Lombardi, uh, where are we going?"

"Don't know."

"Well that sounds like a perfectly good idea to me..." Winston trailed off as he followed Falco.

"Slippy, do you think you can get me this pig's menu?"

"Are you asking if he's _on_ the menu? 'Cause that would be canni-"

"No! His input menu... something I could type a code into."

"I'll try to find it." Again Slippy examined the android pig, this time bringing a tool with him.

"Is that a... screw-driver?" Bacon asked.

"Phillip's."

BAC 000 n hurriedly flipped open a touch-screen panel from his chest.

"Thank you." Beltino spent only a few moments disabling the pig's safety mode, and then he was finished. "There; that should have done it."

The pink glow emanating from the android's eyes was replaced by a blue one.

"How did you do that?"

"Universal codes tech company owners are always familiar with."

"I don't think companies use universal security codes." Slippy said.

"It's not important." Beltino said, flustered. "Now, let's try this again. What has brought you here?"

"My owner, Andross Oikonny, brought me here to assist him in searching these ruins."

"Why did he leave you here?"

"He planned on coming back with a larger task force. He built a magnetic flux device into the ruins to keep asteroids from further eroding them." The android just had diarrhea of the mouth now.

"That must be why the asteroids were staying away from it. But why did Andross come here in the first place?"

"He was investigating the warp entrance in Meteo when he stumbled across these ruins. Then he ran a full diagnostics on them."

"So Andross was studying warps pretty early on in his career." Fox guessed.

"What did he find?" Slippy asked.

"_I'll_ do the questioning if you don't mind, Slippy." Beltino said as he glared at his son through his helmet. "Ahem, now, what did the diagnostics show?"

"Andross scanned and recorded most of the artifacts and pictures here, but his conclusions were erased from my memory. All except one; that the entrance to the warp in Meteo originated here."

"So this was a temple or hall built around a warp?"

"A logical conclusion." Beltino agreed. "Now, let's have a look at Andross' findings, shall we?"

Deeper in the ruins, Falco and Winston were exploring.

"Jeez, how far does this tunnel go?"

"Too far; let's go back."

"The only other time I've been down a tunnel this far was back on... Venom..."

"Or the hallway to get to the lavatory at night. They both seem endless and spooky."

The beam of Falco's flashlight fell on a pair of giant, stone feet.

"Whoa."

"My words exactly sir; that is the nastiest toe-jam I have ever-"

"No, not that..." He shined his beam all the way up the stone giant; it must have been twenty to thirty feet tall. "This is exactly like that temple on Venom; the long hallway, the stone golems..." He shined his light further down the hallway, until it came across another object. "...Even the freaky monkey statues."

"...Even the freaky monkey statues." Slippy finished as he pointed to the corresponding images projected from the android's hologram.

"This doesn't make sense." Fox said. "Was the evil-monkey-empire on Venom, or on the ninth planet?"

"They must have been on both." Beltino said. "Maybe they were able to warp from Venom to the ninth planet using a natural portal they found. We just haven't found the corresponding one on Venom yet."

"If there was a portal on Venom, wouldn't we have found it by now?" Slippy asked. "And anyway, this portal dumped us out at Katina when we took it."

"You can come out of portals whenever you want to, son."

"Oh... yeah."

"Though you do eventually come out once the effects wear off, and they usually point you in the general direction. But anyway, I am not looking forward to exploring this whole ruin, since Andross already discovered it and mapped it out for us. I will copy these files and take the android with us." Beltino began copying the maps and artifacts from the android's memory onto his computer pad. "By the way, where have Falco and Winston gone off to?"

"They're just wandering around."

"Krystal, Amanda; why don't you two go find them?"

"Sure." They left down the hallway, following the silver trail of adhesive dust the duo's suites had left behind so they wouldn't get lost.

"And while we are waiting, let's look at some more files, shall we?"

Beltino, Fox, and Slippy sat down to examine their findings.

"Mr. Lombardi, I believe I found something."

"Just call me Falco."

"Whatever you say, sir."

"And none of that 'sir' business either." Falco walked over to Winston who was shining his light on a stone door.

"Do you think we can open it?"

"We may break our backs trying."

They braced themselves against the stone floor and pushed as hard as they could against the door, but it didn't seem to move.

"This is hopeless!" Winston exclaimed as he sat down on an ornately chiseled stone floor panel.

"C'mon, Sniffy! Just a little more! Fine, I'll do it by mysel-" At that moment the door swiftly opened and Falco fell face-first into the dark, dusty room on the other side. "What are you, a wimp! That was easy! I don't even know my own strength!"

"I sat down on a button."

"Oh."

They looked around the room to find rows and rows of large, identical drawers lining the walls. Each had an ornate handle, probably meant for opening them.

"Ominous." Falco said. "It's almost like a morgue where they have all those corpses stored, except these are probably thousands-of-years-old decaying mummies who would release some horrible curse on us if we opened their tombs and would come back to life to kill us in brutal ways. Let's open one."

Beltino, Fox, and Slippy were examining a wall relief which BAC 000 n was projecting for them.

"The Venomians are telling some story... it starts with this planet, here." Beltino pointed to a giant circle covered in pictures. "Probably Venom, judging by those who created this relief. It's just covered in so many details; these appear to be cities, and the inhabitants are obviously monkeys. Here is a statue of one of their gods, perhaps. And this is..."

"A smiley face?"

"What?"

"Right here; a smiley face." Fox pointed to it.

"Oh, that's probably just a hieroglyph or something."

"I think the smiley face is pretty universal."

"Then it's just a doodle. An ancient doodle."

"Yah, but... have you ever heard of an ancient architect who would ruin his work like this? This is hilarious! This is like something I would do. They didn't do that stuff back then!"

"You're right; Easter eggs are a more modern invention. I know Andross didn't do it. It's too old. I am starting to think they were an advanced race, even though they worked in stone..."

"I have detected a disturbance in the ruins," the android warned them. "A tomb has been opened."

"What do you mean, 'a tomb has been opened?'"

"It's a... it's a... a-"

"What is it?"

Falco and Winston were staring at the form in the coffin they had just pulled out of the wall. It was too dark to make out his features, but it was big. Slowly, laser green fibers running through the inside walls of the coffin lit up, until they all connected to the creature at the center.

"Mr. Lombardi, what's happening?"

Suddenly, long strands of holographic symbols appeared, and a loading bar began approaching completion.

"I think it's going to wake up... It's in hibernation."

They stared at the loading bar a few more seconds.

"Run?"

"Run."

Krystal and Amanda were strolling down the hallway, following the silver trail left behind the two wanderers.

"Do you hear... screaming?"

They shined their lights farther down the hallway, but floating dust obscured the beams. Out of the gloom, a blue, sprinting falcon blew past them, shouting, "Run away!"

"From what?" Amanda called after him.

"Mummies!" Winston shouted as he passed them, too.

"Hah! Mummies... Yah right." But Krystal sounded doubtful. "At least we found them."

"Krystal, do you feel that?"

They paused in silence. They could feel a rhythmic pounding... footsteps...heavy breathing down the back of their necks-

"AHH!" Krystal jumped around, facing behind her.

"Sorry... that was me." Amanda said.

The footsteps were getting closer.

"Yah, uh, let's run." They turned around and did, scattering more floating dust. But it was apparent whatever was chasing them was catching up. Krystal pulled Amanda into a side passage way behind two columns. They hunkered down and shivered as the monster ran passed them.

They let out their breaths. But then they heard the steps slow down... and begin to retrace their path. Then silence.

Each minute they waited seemed like an hour of suspense. They were sweating inside their suits. Finally Krystal stood up and peaked around the pillar. The monstrous ape appeared out of the darkness in front of them, its fangs bared in a deafening roar mixed with their screams.

**A/n: Longer than I thought it would be, so I split it up. Starfox goes Indiana Jones for a bit.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: The Secrets of Meteo Part II**

"Falco! Winston! Where have you been? Did you see Krystal and Amanda looking for you? Why are you running? Oh, and did you open a tomb?"

"We've been opening a tomb. We saw the girls after opening the tomb. We're running from what was inside the tomb. And yes, we opened a tomb."

"You seriously ran all this way because of... let me guess, a nasty-looking mummy?" Beltino said.

"Sir, if I may, Mr. Lombardi forgot to mention it came alive and tried to kill us." Winston said, nearly out of breath.

"And you left the girls back there with it?"

"Uh... maybe?"

"Come on; follow me." Fox said.

"Where are we going?"

Fox tossed both of them blasters.

"Mummy hunting."

"Well, now that we have some guns, I won't be so quick to run."

"Falco, you looked like a blue chicken in a marathon a few moments ago. Never repeat that imitation again."

"Very comical Mr. Mcloud. What did I look like running?" Winston asked.

"The usual."

"Not funny sir."

The apelike monster reached a gnarly hand out to grab Krystal, but she fell backwards out of its grasp and pulled out her blaster, firing several blasts at its face. At least she had the sense enough to bring a blaster. But she felt her hopes sink when the lasers merely reflected off of the ape's silver fur. He blinked a few times, taking a few steps backward, but he quickly sprang forwards again. Amanda grabbed Krystal's shoulder and yanked her back. The beast landed on all fours, then renewed his attack, lunging forward again and again as the girls struggled to stay out of his reach; rolling, diving, and eventually running backwards. Amanda lit a flare and threw it behind her into the monster's face. He scrunched up his eyelids and swatted blindly at the air, trying to make the intense glow of the flare go away. Krystal and Amanda had enough time to get well ahead of the ape-like monster, but how could they know which way to go?

"KRYSTAL!? AMANDA!? WHERE ARE YOU!?"

"Fox, shouting in all caps isn't gonna help you. It just ticks people off."

"What?"

"Never mind... go on shouting."

"KRYSTAL! ARE YOU THERE?"

_"Here, Fox!"_ came Krystal's distant voice, echoing through the ruins.

"AMANDA! YOU THERE, TOO?" Slippy shouted.

_"I'm with Krystal!" _came her reply.

"Mummy! Are you safe?" Winston jokingly called out after them.

"GAAAAAARGH!" a giant roar from behind made them all jump. They spun around, facing the ape.

"Split-up and surround him!" Fox yelled to everyone. They did as they were told, circling the monster, but always keeping on the move.

"Fox, it appears these blasters just reflect off of his fur!" Beltino shouted over the noise. "It's almost like steal mesh! The Old Empire seems to be very skilled in bio-engineering." But after observing some of the ape's brutish behaviors, he added, "Though they seem to be lacking in the cerebral aspect."

"What?" Slippy said, firing lasers into the ape's eyes.

"Meaning they're stupid." Beltino fired a few shots, probably to 'test the nervous system of its gluteus maximus' if he had been asked. The ape bellowed and slammed its fists into a pillar, collapsing part of the ruins. Fox was partially buried underneath the rubble, trapped. He hurriedly brushed away pieces of the rubble, but not fast enough; he wouldn't escape from the monster in time.

Beltino took charge of the situation.

"Slippy! Get into that room over there and work whatever technology it has! It's some form of a control room, I think." Slippy ducked beneath the ape's legs and ran into the room. "Falco," he continued, "Help me keep this beast away from Fox!"

Beltino fired laser blasts into the ape's eyes while Falco decided on a head-on charge.

Slippy entered room to find it was indeed a control room; the ruins were no work of a primitive race. Again he did what he was best at; pressing random buttons. Eventually the holographic displays of the computer came up, and Slippy yelled back to the brawlers, "I turned it on!"

"Great Slip!" Falco said as he flew head first past the doorway, the result of his head-on attack.

"I can't even get that far with my own computer." Winston said as he also flew by.

"Try shutting down the bio-defense systems!" Beltino said as he followed the other two in mid-air.

_Yeah, right, like I know how to do that._ Slippy thought as he looked dumbfounded at the glyphs and symbols. Time to press more random buttons, er... floating green hieroglyphs this time.

Beltino landed on-top of Falco and Winston at the end of his trajectory, and they all struggled to get up and back in the fight. But now the monster had turned towards Fox again, and was lumbering his way. Out of nowhere, Krystal leapt over the pile of rubble and slammed her energy deflector into the ape's face. He fell over from the force, though not affected by the laser field itself. He stood up, flung Krystal and Amanda (who was attempting to sneak up behind him) into the pile started with Beltino, Winston, and Falco, and again turned towards Fox. But at that moment the whole ruin began to shake.

"I think I did something!" Slippy yelled, running from the room. The giant golemech statues light up with green led lights, and stepped out of their alcoves. Then they went berserk, smashing walls, statues, each other, anything they could find. Some even began running down the hallway, non-stop.

Now was the time to move or be squashed. Fox activated a grenade and rolled it a few feet down the rubble in front of him. _T__his __better __work,_ he thought. At the last second, before the grenade went off, he used his laser deflector, shielding himself from most of the blast force, which was enough to clear him of the rubble.

The monster let out one last bellow of rage before it was trampled by a mob of golemechs. The destruction of the giant defense statues caused the ruins to crack and break apart.

"EVERYONE, RUN!" The Starfox team dashed through the remainder of the ruins, followed by a calm BAC 000 n. They mad it safely back to their ships and climbed in when a giant tremor shook the whole ruin.

"It's breaking apart!" Beltino said when they were all seated. The tremor climaxed at a giant wrenching when the ruins apparently split in two. The artificial gravity shut down, and the ships floated back into the air.

"Take off, take off, take off!" Winston shook Falco from behind as he hurriedly started the process.

"They're coming down the hallway!" Amanda warned. Sure enough, a track team of golemechs were running towards them, a difficult thing without gravity.

As they flew away, they looked back at the now completely demolished complex. It was littered with fragments of stone, bricks, and giant golemech statues attempting to run down the hallway, but, as they were floating in space, they only seemed to be running in place in no particular direction, as if they were doing their rendition of the robot dance.

"A pity, I would have liked to examine the ruins myself." Beltino mused. "It was nice being an archeologist for a day."

"Quite a peaceful and relaxing job, isn't it?"

"Yes, it did bring me a _few _days closer to retirement. I hope I won't have to do this too often."

After the team finished coping with the recent events (e.g. hot chocolate, a Hallbark© movie, Mario games, and screaming incoherently), they once again found themselves in the rec. room of the Great Fox, doing what they normally did. Beltino walked into the doorway and motioned for Fox to follow him. Fox put down the soda-pack he was attempting to open and went out after him. He followed Beltino into the lab room, where he had several holograms displayed and BAC 000 n's chest compartment opened to his circuitry.

"Fox, I need to share with you my findings. I've uncovered a lot."

"Ok. Start in."

"I was fishing around in this android's memory and eventually found he has been lying to us."

"About his name being Bacon? 'Cause I would be-"

"No, no; about Andross erasing his findings from the pig's memory. I found a file he created called, 'The Anomaly.'"

"What was in it?"

"He thinks it was a project started by the Old Venomian Empire... and that it caused their disappearance from the universe. He didn't know whether they just left, or were destroyed." Beltino pulled up an image of a giant relief carved into a wall. "This was the last relief they carved in the ruins. Take a look."

The carving displayed the Lylat system in great detail, though it was damaged in several places. Beltino pointed to three temples around the system.

"One on Venom, one on the 9th planet, and one on Zoness. Each temple is mostly a giant hallway. They form a circle with Sectors X, Y, and Z. But look at these machines; it's as if they are actually making the Sectors."

"So they are the ones who made them? Then how come they used the English alphabet?"

"Lylat has always used this alphabet, as far back as we remember. We inherited it from them."

"And all the hieroglyphs on the walls?"

"Oh... hieroglyphs are actually a more efficient way of communication than letters are, but they probably used them both; you can't invent new words with hieroglyphs without lots of trouble. But that's not the point!" He pointed towards the relief again. "Here we see ships flying through all three hallways, and they seem to be warping to another dimension. But, unfortunately, what they have carved of that dimension has been eroded, damaged." He turned to Fox. "But we have found the key! Andross has restarted their project Anomaly and created his own dimension, too. He built the Orbital Gateway in Sector Y under the guise of a commercial warp, and two warps of his own during the Lylat Wars at his military bases in Sectors X and Z. He has hidden away for years, amassing his army, and finally revealed himself. We must destroy his Anomaly, or it may cause a cataclysmic event that wipes out all of the Lylat System."

"But how can we destroy this project? We can't simply blow away the Sectors like we would dandelions."

"Right. We have to take back the warps from his army and take the battle to his dimension." Beltino punched his fist into the missing section of the relief.

"Great. Sounds like fun." Fox rubbed his head. "I wonder if everything's going alright for Wolf."

**A/N: Wow. Ten chapters in and 'Anomaly' is finally mentioned. Ianagainstcliffhangars caught the pun about Bill Gates (I guess he didn't like the cliff hangar ending of chapter 9, though...)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: The Titania Compound Part I**

Everything_ not _going well for the Starwolf team. In fact, everything was going wrong.

The Chancellor had sent them to Titania to investigate the possibility that Andross was starting up his old cloning facilities again. He was.

After the Lylat Wars, Captain Shears, posing as the commanding officer of Corneria's military base on Titania, successfully cloned Andross using the directions given to him by his master. Though Andross was cloned, Starfox quickly defeated him before he even left the base, which they collapsed on him. Apparently, collapsing the base was not enough to discourage any further cloning activity, and Andross had just that in mind. Why did he want to clone himself? The Cornerian military proposed the following reasons; two heads are better than one, Andross wanted to have a ruling counterpart in the Lylat System, or he was testing the possibility of cloning an army. I say the elite of Corneria wanted the cloning materials for some future diabolical scheme they would hatch. Just throwing that out there. Maybe.

Where was I? Oh, yes; everything went wrong from the start. Their ships malfunctioned from the ionic dust of Titania in the middle of a dogfight, causing their communication systems to go offline, and their g-diffuser systems (why was it always those?) to shut down. They were quickly shot down, and crash-landed (halfway across the planet from each other, it seemed). Their ships were wrecked for a second time within a week, and Wolf was stranded in the middle of the Titanian desert, with no oasis around for miles. The only clue he had for his location was a homing device that pointed him in the direction of the compound. He had no choice but to complete his mission.

Wolf opened the cockpit of his Wolfin, and was immediately blinded by the sun and dust blown into his eyes. He jumped out, landing on the soft but scorching sand of a dune. He pulled out his supply sack, slinging it across his shoulder, and strapped on his weapons and ammunition belt. Glancing down at the direction the homing device was pointing towards, he set off in the direction of the compound.

He was almost hypnotized by the endless sands and repetitive motion of staggering up and sliding down dune after dune. When he had drained both of his water containers and completely exhausted himself, he knew it was time for the monotony to stop. Setting up his tent was easy (by that time in the future, it must have been) The tent was made out of a solar-cell mesh that absorbed the sun's rays and converted them into electricity to charge his weapons or as air conditioning. Next he set up a machine which converted moisture from the air into drinking water, and took out his lunch. He opened the meal packet a little too quickly and the sandwich wrap fell out onto the sand. He cursed and leaned over to pick it up, but noticed it had landed next to a large raw-hide boot. He followed the boot up to the owner, which was an Indian-looking bear. He was bare-chested (get it, _bare-_chested? Heh, heh... that wasn't funny) with a belt instead slung across his chest, but he still wore a modern pair of jeans.

"How did you find me way out here?" Wolf asked.

"I saw you from village." the bear answered in a deep, halting tone. He pointed to a small town located on a raised oasis not a mile away.

"Oh." _How the heck did __I__ miss that?_

Wolf packed up his small camp-site and followed the Indian bear into the village, where they had a bite to eat in a restaurant.

"When I see you, you look lost."

"Yeah, my ship crashed a few miles from here. Wasn't my fault; this annoying dust got into my star-ship and screwed up the g-diffuser and communications system." Wolf realized the Indian probably had no idea what he was talking about.

"Where you want to go?" The bear asked him.

After sipping his beer, Wolf decided not to get too complicated for him.

"There is a building, not too far from here. Giant metal birds land next to it frequently, and warriors with lightning sticks shoot anyone in sight. Inside, they are duplicating things, people. The building looks-"

"Oh, you mean cloning facility." The bear cut him off. "Go north-west from here, about five miles." Next he pulled out a writing pad and a pencil. "Here are the coordinates." He tore off the piece and handed it to Wolf.

"Uh, thanks." _Note to self; _g_rammar or tribe is no indicator of intelligence._

When they were done with their lunch, the bear showed him to the edge of the city where he pointed him in the right direction. Wolf thanked him and once again set off into the red desert.

It was mid-afternoon when he glanced down at the coordinates of the note and the ones on his homing device. They nearly matched; he was almost there. He looked up and notice two figures lying just under the crest of the dune in front of him. He decided to sneak-up on them. As he got closer to the top of the dune, he realized they were a jack-rabbit and a koala, peeking over the edge of the dune with binoculars.

"I can't tell what he's holding." The jack-rabbit said to his companion. "It looks yellow and curved."

"I say it looks more white than yellow," The koala answered back. "It also has a black handle."

"No, wait, he just took it out of its casing. Now it definitely is more white than yellow."

"Did you see that, mate? He just threw it on the ground! It must be a disposable gun that's bio-degradable."

"I have never seen a blaster so stylish." The jack-rabbit said. "It's kind-of... elegant."

"Did you see that? He just took a bite out of it!"

"It must be edible, too."

"Rico, that's not an advanced gun we've been staring at for the past ten minutes! It's just a banana!"

"You're right! I can't believe this! All this time we'er supposed to be on reconnaissance duty, we've just been starin' at a monkey soldier eating his lunch-"

"Freeze!" Wolf yelled at them, pointing his blaster.

The two raised there paws, sat up, and slowly turned around.

"Crikey! We thought you was a slinky from down there!" The koala exclaimed.

"G'day, mate! You must be that Starwolf fella!"

"Keep your hands up." Wolf warned.

"Don't you understand?" The koala asked. "We're yer contacts!"

Wolf was skeptical. There was no way two fools like these could be his ground men.

"The sun rises in the east." Wolf said

"And sets in the north/south!" They both answered, though with different directions at the end.

"Kobe, it was north."

"It bloody wasn't!"

"OK YOU TWO!" Wolf shouted over their bickering. "What are your names?"

"Kobe, mate!" said the koala.

"And Rico!" said the jack-rabbit.

"Listen you two," Wolf was growling now. "There will be _no _funny business, and do exactly what I tell you. Our mission is to get in there, plant the bomb, steal the research, and get out."

"Right, mate... but wouldn't it be smarter and safer to steal the information, and _then _plant the bomb?"

"Whatever. Just give me the bomb."

The two waited for each other.

"Go-on; give it to 'em, Rico."

"Kobe, _you _had the bomb, remember?"

"Oh, bugger, I did 'ave it. Must've left it back at the shanty."

"What the heck is wrong with you two!? Fine, we'll have to improvise... so here's the plan, I'll sneak into the-"

"We already have a plan, don't we mate?"

"We bloomin' do."

"See that elevated track over there?" He pointed towards a supply track that was raised about fifty feet over the desert, disappearing into the distance. "We managed to snatch a supply cart off o' it. You can use that to get into the compound. One o' your friends is up there already."

"BZAaAaAaAH! Wolf yelled as he was electrocuted by a nasty weapon. He fell face first onto the tracks.

"Oh, uh... sorry Wolf." Leon nervously apologized from behind the supply cart. "Didn't know it was you."

"That's... ok... Leon." Wolf replied, his voice muffled as he was still face down in the tracks.

"You two Aussies again!" Leon exclaimed as he helped Wolf up.

"Couldn't bear to be without us, could you?"

"Alright now; get in there and bury yourselves underneath those supplies."

Wolf and Leon climbed into the supply cart and began piling food, ammunition, and toilet paper on top of themselves.

"We had a team just like you guys, once." Rico mused.

"Yeah; called it, 'Starkoala,' we did."

"No, I distinctly remember us calling it, 'Starrabbit.'"

"So you guys had two other members once?" Wolf asked, as they covered the cart with a tarp.

"Chelsea and Kevin. Nice fellows, they was."

"What happened to them?"

"Rico, what did happen to them?"

Rico paused, about to push the cart down the slope. "Blimey, I think they were doin' the same thing you are."

"Oh, yeah, now I remember. Didn't really work when they tried it."

"Wait, what!?" Wolf poked his head out of the cart.

"Don't worry; it'll work this time." And with that, the jack-rabbit and koala pushed the cart over the slope, and it took off.

"WAIT! WAAAAAAaaaaa_iiit!_" Wolf shouted as they speed down the roller coaster-like track.

"Keep yer arms 'n legs inside the vehicle at all times, and you'll be fine!" Kobe called after them. "Nice mates, they was. C'mon, let's find the other two."

**A/N: Yup, splitten this one up into two parts, too.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: The Titania Compound Part II**

WhaBOOOM! The supply cart crashed to a stop inside of the compound. Wolf and Leon slowly and painfully extricated themselves from the cart, falling out onto the steal floor below.

"Alright Leon; all hope of secrecy has been lost." They were too tired and aching to move out of their crumpled positions. "Monkey and lizard guards will be scampering our way in seconds. I'll stay here and be a distraction, and you find the frog professor dude. He has the research information."

"No, you go. I'll hold them off." He winced in pain.

"Fine; we'll both go. But you move first."

"We better move now; I hear footsteps."

Sure enough, several guards came running into the room, but on the opposite side of the cart.

"Blimey!" said a gruff ape. "I've been wondrin' where this cart got itself off to. Better check it, Icky."

Icky, a camouflage green lizard (that's what he called it; he actually looked more like baby-poop green), approached the cart and looked in.

"Yesss," he said in a gurgling voice. "Looks like it's all here." He reached into the cart and began lifting supplies out and handing them to his fellows.

"Wait..." A short and spidery chimpanzee spoke up. "What if some feller snuck in 'ere by way of this cart?"

The ape paused in the middle of passing a crate of tuna fish.

"Uh... only an idiot would be stupid enough to ride a heavy metal cart full of junk down a rotting ramp into a military facil-e-a-ty (he stumbled over the word) filled with hundreds of guards."

_Or two people _pushed_ by idiots._ Wolf thought to himself.

"But," continued the chimp, "There were those two idiots from a few days ago, remember?"

"Yeah, well, they'd 'ave ta be _doubly_idiots if any were to try it again." The ape retorted. After the guards finished storing the food, they turned out the lights and shut the supply room door behind them.

"That was easier than I expected." Leon commented, finally getting up with minor pain. "What was that frog scientist's name again? Still Bletching, or something?"

"Stillo Blechette." Wolf corrected him. "Our inside man. Also the creepiest scientist you could meet... besides the big monkey himself."

"Please," Leon said, putting a hand to his head. "I try to suppress that memory."

After no little amount of professional sneaking, ninja-like stealth, assassin skill, and the bungling of bulls in a china shop, the two found their way to the computer room of the research compound. They snuck in backwards, quietly shutting the door. They turned around... and came face to face with the freakiest red-eyed tree frog to wear a lab coat.

"GAAAH!" They both shouted, pressing themselves flat against the door behind them.

"Dr. Lizardston, I presume." The scientist said to Leon.

"Oh, Dr. Blechette, it's you." Wolf said, relieved.

"We jumped so because, you, well, surprised us." Leon said.

"I get that reaction regardless of circumstance." Stillo Blechette informed them. "Now, I had begun to worry about your team when I heard my 'compatriots' shot down several fighters. Wait, where are your other two team members? Outside?"

"Yeah... in a way..." Wolf said.

"You mean outside as in," the tree frog gestured to a picture of the empty desert. "Outside outside?"

"We got separated, Ok? It wasn't my fault." Wolf said, defensively. "These stinkin' ion storms blew dust into our ships. Messed-up everything!"

"Then it _was_ your fault." Blechette retorted. "You should have sprayed your ships with sealant before-hand."

"Watch it, freak; or I'll-"

"Wolf, lay off 'a him." Leon held Wolf back.

"Sorry for annoying you, fur-ball." Blechette jeered. "But seriously, though; we have to carry on with the mission. I'll download the research onto this tablet, and you two better start setting up the bomb. _If _you two can handle it without blowing us all up." The tree frog considered it for a moment. "On second thought, you better give it to me."

"Fine," Wolf said. "Leon; hand him the bomb."

Leon hesitated.

"Uh, I thought you had the bomb."

"Don't be an idiot! _You _have the... oh wait, those two goof-balls had the bomb. But they didn't even have it, either! They forgot it!"

"Looks like I'll have to whip something up on the spot." Blechette said, annoyed.

At that moment, several guards walked into the room with a deck of cards and a few stacks of poker chips. The two groups stared at each other.

"Well this looks bad..." Blechette mumbled to himself. Then he quickly raised his hands into the air and said, "Thank goodness you came; they were trying to hold me hostage!"

The guards dropped their poker set and drew their weapons, getting the drop on Wolf and Leon.

"You realize you're never going to capture us alive." Wolf growled.

"No; just conscious." Two of the guards turned the knobs on their guns and blasted them with stun lasers. After two seconds of shocking pain, Wolf and Leon collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.

Wolf slowly blinked open his eyes. He was slouching against the back of a prison cell, with Leon not too far away from him. He noticed a female kangaroo and a male wombat pacing back and forth in the cell opposite them. Wolf groaned and sat up.

"Let me guess," He said to the occupants of the other cell. "Chelsea and Kevin?"

"Yeah." Kevin answered. He glumly sat down on the cot. "You must be the infamous Starwolf."

"How did you know our names?" The kangaroo asked.

"We met the duo of doom."

"Oh, that explains how you wound up here, eh?" Kevin said.

"Have you been with Kobe and Rico for long?"

"Not really. Generally people try to avoid them and their... 'missions.' This time they had the promise of pay from Corneria to lure us in, and, well..."

"Hey, lizard fella!" Chelsea called.

"Hmm? Wha?" Leon had been day-dreaming of ways to escape.

"I think the slinkeys forgot to take your blaster away."

Leon looked down at his hip. Sure enough, his blaster was there, sitting in its holster.

"No way... HA HA HAAA!" He laughed, hysterically. He jumped up, drawing his blaster, and aimed in a dramatic pose at the lock on their cell. He pressed the trigger, only to have a small flag pop out of the front and unfurl, reading, 'Pew-Pew!'

There was an awkward silence.

Leon began banging the blaster against the cell bars, angrily yelling at the guards.

"GOD... FORSAKEN... MONKEYS AND LIZARDS! Very funny. Oh, very funny. HA HA HAA! Hear me laughing! WHAT KIND OF IDIOTS ARE YOU! HOW DO YOU EVEN HAVE TIME TO DRAW THIS LITTLE SIGN AND WORK IT INTO THIS GUN'S MECHANICS?! DO YOU HAVE A LIFE!? Ooooh, when I get out-"

"Leon, would you kindly SHUT-UP!" Wolf yelled at him.

Leon gave one, last, "Why... why?" and sunk back to the floor.

"Alright, now that we have some peace and quiet... how are we going to escape?"

"Good question, mate." Kevin said. "I've been thinking, and I came up with a few possibilities. Perhaps you could saw through the bars with your metal razor-claws?"

"It would take weeks."

"Well, uh... your lizard pal, there; he could turn a shade of green... actually a nastier shade of green than he already is, and pretend to be sick. When they came to take him away, you could jump 'em-"

"They wouldn't care if he got sick. _I_ wouldn't care if he got sick."

Chelsea began fiddling with an amulet around her neck.

"Don't you have friends outside? The rest of your team? Couldn't they come and break us out?"

"They crashed miles away from here; it would be a million to one that they could find us, let alone break us out, with all of these guards around..."

It all suddenly clicked in Chelsea's mind."I have the bomb!"

Kevin was still theorizing. "Ok; I saw this in a movie, once. We need a piece of dental floss, some bubble gum, and a... What do you mean, you 'ave the bomb?"

She raised the amulet triumphantly. "The agents slipped it to me secretly, awhile ago, disguising it as a necklace!"

"So _you _have the bomb! About time we finally found it." Wolf said.

"But how do we use it?" Kevin asked.

"We threaten to set it off!" Leon said.

"ARE YOU CRAZY!" The Titanians said.

"We won't really set it off!" Leon explained. "Criminals do it all the time in sticky situations. Here; toss it on over. If you two don't have the guts to use it, I will."

"Are you calling us cowards?" Kevin said, indignantly, but Chelsea went ahead and flung across the cell block to Leon, who caught it.

"No Kevin; you would blow us to 'eaven if you was 'andlin it." she replied.

"Not that I know how to work it either..." Leon admitted, looking it over. "It really just looks like a necklace; they did a good job of disguising it."

"Listen; here's the plan. Leon will hold the bomb. We call the guards in here, threaten them, and make them give us our guns back. After that, we'll-" But a guard walked in at that moment. "Never mind; just follow us."

"What are you all whisperin' about?" The guard said. "Shuddup!"

Leon stood up, holding the bomb. "Listen, monkey, release us, or we'll blow this place sky-high."

"With what? A necklace? HA!"

"This is a bomb, ya ijit!" Kevin shouted. "It's capable of leveling this whole compound in seconds! Now let us out!"

The guard's eyes widened, and he quickly, though clumsily, unlocked their cell doors and released them. They grabbed the guard's gun and forced him to take them to the armory, where their weapons were being held. After suiting up, they followed the guard towards the laboratory. After a minute of walking, they came out into the main atrium of the compound, where guards and scientists were milling about. Leon walked in front of the group, bomb raised into the air. When they were noticed, the guards quickly drew their weapons and stepped in front of the scientists.

"Put your weapons down; we have a bomb!" Wolf shouted. The guards looked at each other, confused, but some of them dropped their weapons.

"What are you buffoonsss doing!?" Asked the commanding lizard officer. "Ssstand your ground and hold yer weaponsss!"

"Better drop them!" Leon hissed.

"He'ss bluffing!" Retorted the Commander. There was along pause where neither side made a move; the tension was building.

"Dr. Blechette!" Wolf called. "Get over here!"

The tree-frog scientist stepped forward from the group of Androssians and timidly walked over.

"Take us to the laboratory."

When they arrived at the laboratory, Blechette began transferring the data from the research computers onto a research tablet. Wolf couldn't help taking his eyes off of the enemies encircling them to look at the amazing equipment. All throughout the brightly lit laboratory were giant computer monitors, holo-tables, operating tables, and giant glass vats. They were about twenty feet tall, though they still didn't touch the ceiling. Each vat was filled with a different colored liquid, and some had masses of flesh floating in them. Most were unformed, but two were near completion. One contained a fully formed dog in perfectly fit condition. The other held a version of Andross, but this one mirrored what he looked like before he had experimented on himself. Wolf stepped towards the vat which held the dog, and knocked on the glass. The clone's eyes shot open, revealing pitch black pupils. Wolf staggered backwards. Something wasn't right about it; he could feel it with a sixth sense, almost...

Tired of being ignored, the lizard commander brandished his gun again. "They aren't gonna try anything! They'd kill us all!" He brashly fired a shot at Leon, but missed and hit Kevin in the arm.

Chelsea caught the wombat, who was only brushed by the laser. Wolf spun around from the vat and fired back as quick as lightning; the commander fell, dead. Several soldiers fired back, but Leon again brandished the bomb.

_Better set it off now; __hopefully it will give us enough time to escape before it blows..__._ He thought. "I'M SETTING OFF THE BOMB!" he yelled at the rioting soldiers as he pressed the concealed button on the side.

**A/N: So long, I had to split this one up into **_**three **_**parts. Don't worry, part III is already out. And no; Kobe did not get his name from Kobe Bryant; one is a famous African-American who wins at basketball, and the other is an infamous Australian who fails at mercenary work.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: The Titania Compound Part III**

The amulet flipped open, and Leon stared at the contents. "Is that a... picture of a kangaroo wearing a lampshade?"

Chelsea blushed. "Oh, that's a picture of my boyfriend taken at New-year's eve party. I guess he bought it for me and hid it under my pillow; an anniversary gift. Ha ha... guess it wasn't a bomb."

A long, tense silence followed.

"Can I see?" One of the guards asked.

As if he had broken a dam, the rest of the guards opened fire on the group. The Starwolf/Starhic team jumped over a row of desks and returned fire. Blechette looked up from his work, calling, "Finished!" and then realized what was going on. He hiccuped from anxiety, and hopped over the desk after them. They were clearly pinned down by the legion of soldiers. Wolf was trapped in front of the cloning vat, and a soldier took the chance to shoot at him. Wolf quickly ducked, and the laser shattered the vat, raining organic fluid and shards of glass on top of him. Wolf stood back up and turned around._ This can't good._

The border-collie clone stumbled out of the vat, his black eyes focusing on Wolf. He gritted his teeth and ripped out the tubes connecting to his veins and vitals. He slowly walked towards Wolf, grabbing an electric prodding stick on the way. He let out a feral snarl, and leapt at Wolf bringing the prod down on him. Wolf caught the prod mid-swing, grunting from the force. He pushed back on the weapon, but it was clear the collie was much stronger than he was. Wolf took one hand off of the stick to slash the clone's face. The clone turned his head back to face Wolf as the electric end of the prod sparked, black blood dripping from the claw marks on his face. He grinned at his adversary, than launched him into the air with the electric prod.

Wolf went flying into another vat, but he had enough sense to extend his claw and dig it into the metal rim, holding himself up. The clone tossed several scraps at Wolf, but he swung back and forth to dodge them. With one final swing, he flung himself onto the top of the vat, righted himself, and fired several shots at the collie. Enraged, he dashed over to the base of the vat, and threw all of his weight against it several times until it toppled over. Wolf leapt from the vat mid-fall, and hit the ground running, but he noticed the collie in pursuit. He ran all the way until he was trapped by a wall, but he didn't stop there. Taking three whole steps up the wall, he flipped himself over the collie and slashed his claws down its back. The clone howled in rage; it grabbed Wolf by the neck and thrust him against the wall, holding him several feet off the ground so that he was being choked.

At first, Wolf instinctively grabbed at the dog's hands, but then it became clear there was nothing he could do to break the iron grip. He grabbed at his energy knife, and sank it deep into the collie's chest, digging it deeper and deeper. It was now up to time; Wolf was loosing breath fast, but at the same time, the clone was losing blood from its heart. With one last gasp, Wolf sank the knife all the way to the collie's heart, finally taking its life. They both fell to the floor, Wolf landing on his hands and knees, coughing. But it had never felt so good to cough in his life.

"I wish I knew WHO HAD THAT BLASTED BOMB!" Leon shouted as he ducked back under the desk after firing several shots. His wrist communicator sputtered back to life, with Panther's voice, saying, "I have the bomb!"

And with that, a giant hole was blown in the roof, and Panther's Wolfin, cockpit open, hovered down through it. A song by Street-Kyte Manifesto was blaring over his sound system as the engines competed by blasting hot air and powerful gusts throughout the room. The band sounded Mexican, but was actually ska punk. Panther liked them anyways.

"PANTHER!" Wolf angrily shouted over the noise as he struggled to stand up. "WHERE THE HECK HAVE YOU BEEN!?"

"I had sense enough to repair my ship, amigo." And with that, he opened fire on the groups of guards throughout the library, shaking the whole compound with the blasts. Jay leaped out of the cockpit with a climbing rope, and landed in the midst of the guards. He extended the razor feathers from his wings and tore the guards to shreds, dancing and whirling around in an unpredictable pattern. Panther tossed the bomb to Leon from his ship, who in turn gave Chelsea her necklace back.

"You three!" Wolf gestured to the two Aussies and Dr. Blechette. "Climb into the ship!"

Leon activated the bomb and warned the remaining Androssians, who by now had retreated in chaos. "You all have _one minute _to high-tale it outta here!" And with that he dropped the bomb on the ground. By the time they had all climbed into the Wolfin, the laboratory was completely in shambles from the fight. Wolf and Leon had to ride on the wings because the cockpit was already stuffed with passengers. When they were all settled (as settled as you can get when you're hanging onto a thin metal wing for dear life), Panther pulled the Arwing out of the compound, and flew away into the setting sun. The compound erupted in a deadly explosion the size of tanker, leaving behind a giant mushroom-cloud.

"Well," Leon called to Wolf from the other side of the ship. "Another job well done, huh?"

Wolf just grunted.

A minute later, Panther opened the cockpit and tossed them two space suits.

"What are these for?" Wolf asked.

"We're meeting up with the Lylatan military on a cruiser... in space."

Wolf's rude outburst of obscenities was sharply cut off when Panther closed the cockpit.

After what seemed like an hour, they finally arrived at the command cruiser orbiting Titania close to its ring. They docked in the hangar, and waited for their negotiating agent to meet and pay them. Wolf was ignoring Panther.

"Jay, whatever became of those two oddballs back on Titania?" Wolf asked.

"The Aussies?"

"Yes, them."

"They saved me and Panther from dying in the desert, and pointed us in the way of the compound. Then they tried to fix our ships for us, but, well... let's just say, that's why you don't see my ship anywhere. After that, Panther wouldn't let them come near his. But then, they just disappeared. I don't know what became of them."

"Let's hope it stays that way, eh?" Kevin joked, wrapping his burnt arm in a bandage.

"Agreed."

"Blast it!" Chelsea said. "There they are!" The jack-rabbit and koala were moseying their way across the hangar in their direction.

"Sorry mates; gotta run!" Kevin said as he quickly backed away from the group. The two started running in the opposite direction.

"Make sure to save some of that pay for us, will ya?"

They disappeared just in time to escape the duo of doom.

"Welllll! If it isn't our old buddies, team Starwolf!" When Rico laid his eyes on Panther's ship he shook his head and tsk-tsked. "Should-of let us fix the old-girl up, blacky." He pulled out a wrench from his back pocket and approached the Wolfin. "Bet I could fix it up in no-time!"

Panther quickly jumped between the jack-rabbit and his ship, spreading his arms to block Rico.

"No! Andarse! Get away! No toque mi astronave!"

"Aye! Chill off, spanny. I wasn't gonna do 'er no harm!"

"I have an idea!" Leon exclaimed. "Why don't you two go find the rest of the Starhic- I mean, Starrabbit team!"

"Starkoala." Kobe corrected.

"That is a nice idea." Rico agreed, "Haven't seen them since the first supply cart incident. Save our pay for us when you get it, will ya?"

"Oh, and we'll be working with you mates again sometime!"

"Don't feel like you have to!" Leon called after them as they walked away, scouring the hangar, closets, and even cockpits of ships for their short-time companions. Only a few minutes later the negotiator showed up.

"Welcome back, gentlem-, oh, hmm, well, men!" And then, after looking at Jay who couldn't quite be considered a man yet,"Males! Gee, I'm running out of things to call you."

Wolf, still angry, pointed at Panther. "He's a girl."

"Animals, then! Wait a minute, that was an oxymoron, you can't call him a he and a girl in the same... oh whatever. Nice to meet you all again! Do you have the research?"

"Right here." Blechette handed the negotiator the data tablet he had transferred the information onto.

"And here is your pay." He handed them a chromium-enforced briefcase that, as Leon soon verified, held thousands of Cornerian credits.

"Hey! We lost all but one of our ships back there to extreme ion dust in the atmosphere!" Wolf said. "Its going to cost this much at least to get them fixed!"

"Don't worry!" The representative assured them. "My company will cover all the damages you received, replace your ships, and even add on a little bonus to them. Oh, and there was one other thing my company forgot to cover; we never gave you the bomb."

"WHAT!?" Wolf exclaimed.

"Wait, Panther; what did you use to blow up the facility with?"

"No sé. I just found something lying around in my ship and assumed it was the bomb."

"Sir," Blechette asked of the negotiator, "I'm rather curious, but... what will your company use these materials for?"

"They're not just going to the company I represent; these materials will go to many companies. And as to what we will use clones for, there are many other uses besides the giant armies seen in cheesy sci-fi media. We can revive extinct species, give families cubs they could never have, and farm clones for organs to replace our damaged ones."

"Farming animal clones?" Panther said, rubbing his head. "Isn't that, well... inhumane?"

"I will admit we don't know enough about cloning, yet. When you clone someone, is he actually another version of you? Or is he even a sentient being? These answers will take some experimenting."

"Could I become a part of this program sometime?" Blechette asked, hopefully, "I have had lots of experience in the subject."

"I think that would be a good idea. But if you do, remember to join _my_ company." He handed Blechette a sharp, neat business card.

"Anyway," the representative continued, "I'm a very busy man, and must be going now. I am sure these Cornerian officials here will give you your next mission." They shook hands one more time before he took off in his business shuttle. As Blechette examined the card Wolf peeked over his shoulder. He saw the golden symbol of a hammer crushing stars on an anvil, underneath which were the initials of the company. _AWG..._


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Project Anomaly**

**/****\ Realized how to use these things... I think... nope; still can't get those large gaps. Blast it.**

The Great Fox was floating several thousand feet over the Cornerian sea, seeming to be drifting aimlessly about. Fox and Beltino toad stood at the gate to the back hangar, suited up for their next objective.

"Approaching the base now." ROB reported over the intercom. Fox gave Slippy the signal, who in turn opened the hangar door. The hydraulics shissed as the gate lifted, and the brilliant glow of the bright day filled the hangar, temporarily blinding Fox and Beltino, who shielded their eyes as they stepped towards the edge. They looked out over the shimmering azure blue ocean, glistening with millions of specks of sunlight. Pure white clouds were suspended lazily over the water, almost too bright to look at. Not too far away was a floating compound; it was built upon a ring-like structure underneath which were several giant propellers and rocket thrusters. The base was powered by wind energy, heat caught from the evaporating water below, and solar sails catching the brilliant rays of the sun.

The plan was too good to be true. The AWG had recently abandoned a base hovering over the ocean in the middle of nowhere. It was an old base, and not structurally sound anymore. But old was what Beltino was looking for; he needed access to the records of the world's most brilliant, yet evil, scientist; Andross.

They took one more look at the scenery, tightened the straps on their packs, and then jumped out of the hangar and into the overwhelmingly vast sky. The wind whipped through their fur as they plummeted farther and farther down. After awhile, Beltino drifted closer to Fox, grabbed his wrist and shouted in his ear loud enough to be heard over the wind.

"I know you're trying to look epic and all, but I think it's about time to pull up." Fox looked at his watch and then replied to Beltino.

"You're right; we've been falling long enough. There is a scientific method to being cool, you know." And with that, the two separated from each other, and pulled the cords on their packs. Immediately, gliding wings popped out of each pack, and the two flew over to the base.

They landed on the side of the tallest tower, their boots and gloves magnetically adhering to the wall. Fox pulled out a detpack and placed it on the side of the tower. He and Beltino climbed a few feet down, and Fox detonated the bomb. BOOM! A large hole was blown open in the side of the wall, scattering pieces of metal and ruble down upon them.

His eyes flashed open. He quickly scanned the many monitors on the wall for the disturbance, and found it; a heat map showed a small but powerful burst in temperature on the western face of the tower, about half way up. _They have arrived_. He studied the path he would take to reach the intruders, quickly memorizing it. When he was done, he shut down the computers, leaving nothing but black screens facing him. He stared into the depth of the murky monitor, and was met by the stare of a Siberian Husky. His pupils were so dark, they didn't even reflect. A fluorescent bar code was stamped on his forehead; it told his rank, specialty, breed, model number, and unit number. _Corporal, assassin, Siberian H, v 1.8 – Test, __00008__. _He stood up from his chair, and quietly walked out of the room. It was time to hunt his prey.

Fox followed Beltino from room to room as he checked them. Sometimes all Beltino had to do was quickly poke his head in, look around, and then move on. Other times, he had to route through a bit.

"Anything specific you're looking for?" Fox asked.

"Yes: a room with racks upon racks of memory holocrons."

"Right." Fox took the rooms on one side of the hallway while Beltino searched the rooms on the other. After they had searched most of the floor, Fox finally found a possible room. He motioned Beltino over, who peeked in.

"Ahh, this is it." He skimmed over the rows of holocrons, then walked to the room monitor. The computer came out of hibernation to display the index of holocrons. Beltino performed several word-searches, eventually selecting a holocron on the index. The corresponding row and column lit up, intersecting at the correct holocron. Beltino shut off the monitor, retrieved the holocron from the shelf, and motioned for Fox to follow him again. He peeked out the door, looked both ways, and ducked out of the room with Fox behind him.

"Beltino, why are you sneaking around? There's no one here. There going to tear it down in a few days; no one would stay behind."

"Something's not right; it's just too perfect. I can feel it."

"Look, if we weren't the only ones here, they would have found us by now, right?"

The husky looked down at his wrist-watch. He projected a heat map of the base, locating the two targets on the 34th floor. Technically, he had found them: He just hadn't reached them yet. And yes, the ordeal was too perfect. When the Great Fox had docked in Sector X's base, a few insiders took the chance to plant a bug on the ship that allowed his employers to hear every word spoken. When they heard the team had found the Crux of Meteo, and Andross' secret files, they were worried. But at the same time, they realized how to turn it to their advantage. They knew the team would be curious. They abandoned the base, and made sure the story about the possible collapse was front page news. Then, they created him.

He was a master-piece. In a week's time, they had successfully formed him. It was a win-win; test out one of the AWG's first clones, and assassinate Fox McCloud. And what's the cost of sacrificing a lab, if need be?

Beltino finally reached the last room he was looking for; the presentation room. It was a circular room, with rows of seats on steps leading down to the center platform. At the center of the platform stood a hologram pedestal, flanked by a table. Sunlight poured through curved windows along one side of the room; it was a few hours past noon. Beltino stepped up to the platform and placed the holocron in the alcove of the pedestal. A hologram menu was projected into the air, and Beltino scrolled down until he found a video file entitled "Andross Oikonny's 4th Quarter Presentation."

"We came all this way to watch a presentation?" Fox asked, skeptical.

"This is all we really have; when Andross was exiled, he took most of his work with him." Beltino played the file. The whole room was filled with a giant, detailed hologram; it was a recording of a live presentation; audience, speaker, and all. Beltino searched the audience, then sat down in the third row, a rather specific seat, in fact. Fox sat a few seats from Beltino, putting his boots up on the chair in front of him.

A goat that Fox guessed was none other than Bill Goats stood up from his front row seat.

"Dr. Oikonny, you may begin."

A grey primate dressed in a sharp lab coat walked into the middle of the room, placing his own holocron in the center of the room. It was Andross.

"The Lylat System is riddled with many unexplained phenomena," he began, confidently. "Possibly the greatest of which, is the mysterious disappearance of our predecessors; the Old Venomian Empire. Their destruction has been attributed to many events; the awing change of a lush Venom to the ruined wasteland it is today, a massive plague that infected the entire populace, or a large solar flare."

He smiled. "A theory has even been proposed that they died... of constipation. Just as some claimed the dinosaurs did, because of a genetic change in the plants they usually ate." The room echoed with laughter.

"But the Empire was not confined to Venom. In my research, I have found traces of their style of architecture on most of the planets in the Lylat System." The hologram displayed a map of the Lylat System, and pictures of the locations appeared as he mentioned them. "Zoness, Aquas, Titania, and even the Meteo asteroid field. How could one single event cause the deaths of so many? Multiple events then? But what are the odds of them all occurring at once?"

Next, he showed several of reliefs he had found, and Fox recognized the one they had found in Meteo.

"Here;" he emphatically pointed at the carvings, "Is the answer. They have left the Lylat, completely. Where did they go? I believe they have created their own dimension, a warp dimension, a dimension between the fabric of space itself. Or, they have escaped to a world of paradise; an entirely different universe altogether." He next pointed to a carving that depicted an unidentifiable planet ripe in its own golden age of glory.

"Zoness, Venom, and Meteo all hold a rare and unique relic of the Old Empire; a long hall, pointed in the direction of one of the three Sectors, which, coincidentally, the have also created. It seems that these Sectors provide the perfect conditions for warping long distances; they not only connected the Empire; they provided an escape path."

Bill Goats stood up, interrupting him.

"I am sure I speak for all of us when I say we are amazed at these great discoveries. But you were not employed as an archeologist; you are a scientist. Where is your progress? How close are you to completing your Aparoid virus?"

Beltino and Fox shared glances with each other, shocked. Beltino paused the presentation.

"WHAAAT!?" Fox exclaimed. "The AWG created the _Aparoids_?"

"It appears so..."

"But why?"

Beltino thought a moment.

"More war means the government needs weapons. The AWG, by supplying those weapons, makes money. They are essentially ensuring their success by keeping their market alive. Obviously Andross finished his work on the Aparoids, but he built them a little too well. They almost got out of hand and destroyed the Lylat System. We already have assumed that he was responsible for the creation of the Anglars... and in both cases, there was an easy back-door out... that the AWG, in fact, created. They made the self-destruct virus that worked perfectly. And Andross created the device to neutralize the Venom Sea and destroying the Anglars; and you could have, if you had had the sense to use it." Beltino resumed the presentation.

"To be truthful, I have neglected my work on the Aparoid virus, but at the end of this trail lies the Old Venomian Empire. If we can discover the key, the missing piece, we can finally find them. Think; if they had warps before they were defeated, how advanced must they be now? And think about the paradise they found!" Andross paused for a moment, composing himself.

"I think we... _I_... was meant to find them."

The room was completely silent.

"There are only a few of my species left. I am a minority. For inexplicable reasons, they left some of the primate race behind; we missed the ark. This is my heritage. I must find them. I am sure the answer lies on Venom. That is my next destination." The audience gasped and whispered.

"But Oikonny," Bill Goats pleaded, "You _can't_ go there! It's impossible! No lifeforms can survive on Venom; as you said yourself it is a toxic wasteland. And even if you could live their, the Cornerian government has quarantined Venom! The only people who can go are the criminals they _banish_ there!"

"I... am aware of this." Andross reached into his lab coat and pulled out a packet of papers. "My resignation." He tossed it onto the desk in front of Bill Goats. His now former boss picked up the papers and glanced over them.

"But, Andross, you have been a valuable asset to the AWG! Quite honestly, this company wouldn't be what it is today if it wasn't for you!"

"You have scientists just as capable is I am, Mr. Goats." And, strangely, he looked right at Beltino Toad when he said it. "I _will _find the answers on Venom, even if that means forced banishment to get there. This project, project Anomaly, is beyond us now; beyond the AWG, the Cornerian Government, the fabric of space, and even death." Andross took a deep breath and cleaned his glasses with the hem of his coat. "This does not mean, however, that I will completely abandon the AWG. I will continue my work on developing false-flags, weapons, and vehicles in my spare time."

"In his spare time, he says!" Beltino said jealously.

Bill Goats was silent. He stared at the resignation form, then rubbed his temples. He was at a loss.

"The AWG... will provide you with the equipment you need. Keep in contact with us, and we will pay you for whatever technology you work on. Just, don't do anything too drastic so you can get banished."

"Thank you, sir. If I couldn't find them, I would probably go mad."

"Very well, then. I release you from our service."

A heavy weight seemed to be lifted off Andross. There were several more seconds of silence, but then he turned, and strode out of the room. The moment the door closed behind him, the whole room burst into an uproar of commotion.

**A/N Done with school! Summer vacation has started! I'll be able to write a lot more, probably.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Fifteen: Falling**

**A/N Remember to read the chapter right before this; I am releasing these two together, and last time it caused a lot of confusion.**

The hologram paused on its last frame. Fox what as a loss for what he just saw.

"But if Andross went to Venom just to research his ancestors, why did he attack Corneria?"

Beltino had a grave look on his face.

"Because he went mad. He obviously found the Anomaly, the warp dimension, and the Old Empire was nowhere in it. It meant so much to him; no one else really understood. He was taking his anger out on the Lylat System for his lost race."

"And there's another thing I don't understand; how can you know so much about the AWG? You know all about this base; where to look for the holocrons and the presentation room, and you easily overrode Bacon's security systems. How?"

Beltino sighed.

"I cannot hide it anymore." he stood up and took several steps away. He had been sitting inside the hologram of a toad that looked exactly like him, just younger. Fox looked back and forth between the two. "Yes," Beltino continued. "I was the other head scientist for AWG."

"Then why didn't you know of any of their covert projects; this whole Anomaly business and the false-flag enemies? You were here for the whole program!"

"As you can see," Beltino pointed to his hologram. "I was sleeping through the entire thing. I had pulled several all-nighters, actually working on your dad's original Arwing. I was just too exhausted. I knew there was some under-the-table dealings with the AWG, but that was it. We were all ordered to be quiet about the whole matter, even though I didn't have the slightest about what was going on."

"What became of the AWG?"

"After Andross successful got himself banished for performing dangerous experiments, the AWG was charged of responsible for Andross. Regardless of how the trial turned out, the Cornerian Defense Force destroyed its bond with the AWG; they had been their official weapons developer for years, and they severed that connection. The AWG didn't collapse, though it came close to it. It found work in other places. Eventually, I left the AWG, and founded Space Dynamic Ltd. I built up the company, and it soon became the official developer for the Cornerian military. And here I am today."

The husky assassin peeked into the presentation room. At last he had caught up with them. They had just finished watching a long hologram video, by the looks of it. They had run the risk of them finding out secrets of the AWG, but it didn't matter; they would be dead in the next five minutes. He drew his saber from its sheath, producing a quiet, metallic screeching noise. The saber shimmered with a field of energy.

"Quiet! Did you hear that?"

"What?" Beltino asked back. But before Fox could answer, the windows suddenly darkened into their shade mode, the only light provided was the holocron device projecting the final frame of the video, and a single open window. Fox crouched down, listening. Beltino noticed a dark figure creeping up behind Fox, raising a nasty looking saber into the air above him. "FOX LOOK OUT!"

Fox glanced over his shoulder, noticed the assassin, and sidestepped just in time to avoid the energy saber that pierced into the ground beside him. He grabbed the handle, right above the gloved paws of the intruder, and struggled to wrest it from him. But the assassin was too strong; he couldn't pull the saber away. The assassin took one hand off of the saber and dealt a powerful blow to Fox, sending him flying. By the time Fox stood up, the assassin threw a small dagger that destroyed the holocron on the pedestal, plunging the room into complete darkness, except for the single, open window.

"Beltino! Get down!" Beltino dropped to the floor, but he wasn't going to twiddle his thumbs down there. He started to crawl blindly towards the pedestal in the center of the room. Fox activated his wrist-watch, which shown a beam of light throughout the room as he searched for the predator. It was a mistake; the assassin knew where his general position was. He ran over to where he thought Fox was, and brought his saber down. The energy field on the saber had been shut off so he wouldn't be seen in the dark, but even then, it still wounded Fox. Fox let out a cry of pain, grabbed his left arm which had been terribly cut, and then shut off his wrist-watch. He made a blind punch for the assassin, and made contact with the side of his head. The assassin sprawled in the dark, then crawled a few feet away.

Fox paused a moment, but the sound of his ragged breathing would be the death of him. The room was silent for an agonizing minute, each trying to guess the next move of the other. Suddenly, his enemy's saber lit up with energy, and he swung it at him. Fox quickly raised his energy deflector and caught the blow. The assassin pushed hard on his saber, but he could not push it though Fox's deflector. The saber and the flashing deflector lit each other up like blue strobe lights, revealing their fierce faces. Fox drew a dagger with his left hand and plunged it into the side of the assassin, who staggered away in pain. Fox took the chance to slam his energy deflector into the him, sending him even further away.

By then Beltino had found the holocron pedestal, and stood up. He placed his own holocron in the alcove and activated it, playing a scene from the party the Starfox team and probably half of Corneria joined in after they defeated the Anglars. The team and Cornerian military were dancing around, drinking champagne, and playing loud music, accompanied by flashing lights, disco balls, and confetti. Fox and the assassin paused to watch the celebration for a moment.

"Fox you idiot! I didn't play this scene so you could reminisce about your victories! You can see now! SHOOT HIM!"

"Oh, right." Fox pulled out his blaster and aimed at the assassin. The full-room hologram was a bit distracting, so Beltino turned the transparency down. The assassin's eyes widened when he saw the blaster aimed at him, but he reflexively raised his saber in time to absorb the laser fired from it. He jumped behind a row of seats, then stood up to fling several knives at Fox. On landed in his right shoulder, while the other landed in his right thigh. Again, Fox let out a gasp of pain. He attempted to pull the knives out, but before he knew it, the assassin had sprinted over to him and grabbed him in an arm lock, and pressed his saber against his throat.

"I guess its time to say _your _prayers now, pup." Fox attempted to push the saber away, but only succeeded in cutting his fingers on the edge. The assassin smiled; he had won. From behind the pedestal, Beltino drew his blaster. _It's now or never,_ he thought as he prepared to jump out of his hiding place. But the assassin paused; his left ear twitching.

Suddenly, a grappling dart landed on the pane above the open window, an energy line extending from it to the top of a nearby tower. One by one, three dark-clothed figures swung into the room, using the rope as a zip-line; whoosh... whoosh... whoosh! The last one in turned and closed the window behind them. One of them turned the window's transparency setting back to normal, in time to see the last of the four zip down the line and SPLAT! into the now closed window, his arms and legs extended like a starfish. They watched as he slowly slide down the window, making a glass-sliding noise as he went down.

"That was embarrassing..." The leader, a black panther, said. "We'll pick him up when we leave here. But now it is time to killAAAHH!" He suddenly noticed Fox and the husky assassin, blade around Fox's neck. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" The assassin growled. "Killing this mercenary! Who the heck are you?"

"We are assassins hired by the AWG," a Tasmanian tiger answered. "But _we _were supposed to take him out. Who are you?"

"I am a test model for a clone soldier; the AWG was testing my abilities by having me kill McCloud. Now if you will excuse me, I have to slit this guy's throat – "

"Sorry, can't let you do that." The panther said. The husky assassin rolled his eyes.

"Here; hold him." The clone said as he tossed Fox to a surprised Beltino, who immediately dropped Fox on the ground. He next threw another dagger at Beltino's holocron, knocking it off the pedestal, and ending the party scene. "Listen," he said to the thugs. "The AWG is depending on me to prove the worth of a clone military. I haveto finish the job."

"But the AWG hired _us _to kill him!" Said a hulking badger who had barely fit through the window. "We'll lose our reward if we don't kill him!"

"There must have been a mix-up. They accidentally hired you all to kill him, while at the same time deploying me. I don't know how this happened, but I know this; I. Have. To. Finish. It."

"Well we ain't gonna let you!" Yelled the panther. He stepped over to where Beltino and Fox had been, but noticed they were gone. He looked left and right, then noticed the two limping away out the door. "STOP THEM!"

The clone was much faster than either of the bounty hunter's two men, and reached the two first. Fox let go of Beltino and used his last reserves to fight him off; he jumped over him, and placed one shot from his blaster into the assassin's back. Strangely, the laser didn't do much, except to enrage the assassin. He spun around, howled at Fox, and extended his razor-like metal claws. Fox replaced his blaster in his holster and quickly back-stepped away from him; knocking away the husky's swipes as each one came to him. Fox performed a back-flip onto the last row of seats in front of the windows, but the assassin jumped after him. He wrapped his paws around Fox's neck, strangling him. Fox was chocking fast.

"Stop him!" The panther ordered his two men. "_We_ have to kill him!"

The clone looked back and forth between the thugs approaching him and the window right beside them. He knew what to do. It didn't matter if he died; as long as he proved the worth of his race to the AWG, he would be back again, manifesting in another clone. He heaved Fox and himself against the glass once, then the second time shattered several panes, and they both plunged out the window.

"NOO!" Beltino and the thugs all cried. They rushed over to the window to see them falling rapidly towards the ocean, though it was thousands of feet down; it would take some time to hit the water.

Fox had precious little time before he knew his death would be eminent. He kicked away from the assassin in mid-air, then calmly turned on his wrist-communicator as he fell head first towards the ocean. _There might be enough time,_ he thought.

"ROB?! THIS IS FOX!" He shouted into it. The rest of the team was on the line.

"Are you Ok?" He heard Krystal's voice.

"No, not really; I'm FALLING TO MY DEATH FROM THE RESEARCH BASE! SEND FALCO OVER HERE IMMEDIATELY; HE'S THE FASTEST!"

"On it!" Falco replied as he sprinted into his Arwing. "ROB; give me a hyper-space boost; I'll need it if I'm going to get there in time." When he was outside in his Arwing, and along side the Great Fox, ROB started its hyper-space engines, creating an energy field around the Great Fox. Falco flew through it, giving him the jump he needed if he was going to save Fox; he would be there in seconds.

When the clone realized what was happening, he knew the fight wasn't over; he would still have to kill Fox before he was rescued. The powerful wind whipped through their clothes and fur, leaving trails of blood fro their wounds. At times, the bright, orange light of the setting sun blinded them. The assassin dove vertically towards Fox, and sliced at him with his saber when he got close enough.

_This guy's not gonna give up,_ Fox thought. He quickly pulled out the two daggers that were still stuck in him, and held one in each hand. Then he twisted himself towards the assassin until he was spinning in circles, arms extended, and sliced into him multiple times. The clone's howls of pain where lost in the wind, but he immediately struck back, lashing out with his saber. Faster and faster they tumbled through the air, striking at each other, deflecting their blows, and rolling at of each others' way. Fox finally smashed his energy deflector into the assassin's hand that was holding his saber, and knocked it out of his grasp.

"Well, I've never seen the likes of this before..." The panther assassin said as he passed his binoculars to his former target, Beltino.

"What?" Beltino asked as he peered through the glasses at the two hundreds of feet below.

"They are fighting in mid-air!" The leader keyed a few buttons onto his wrist panel, calling in a few reinforcements, and then continued to watch the fun.

The saber was now floating in between Fox and the husky; each was trying desperately to catch hold of it. When the clone made a dive for it, Fox flung his two daggers at him, and one stuck in his stomach. The husky was slowed from reaching the saber, so Fox reached it before he did. In a flash, they met where the saber was; Fox grabbed it first, and drove it into the assassin's chest, watching as he slowly died. He let go of the saber, and the clone drifted away from him. He was over half-way to the ocean now. But in the distance, he saw Falco's Arwing appear.

"I see you!" Falco's voice came over the wrist-comm.

_Whew... I'm going to make i__t, _Fox thought. But suddenly, six black vehicles whizzed by him, then took up positions around him.

"Falco! six drones have surrounded me; this is going to be harder than we expected."

"Just hang in there, buddy!"

One of the drones opened fire on him. Fox spun away to his right and drew both his blaster and his energy deflector. He shielded himself from the on-coming lasers and fired at the drone on the other side of him. He eventually hit it, and it blew apart into hundreds of pieces, scattering like shrapnel. Two drones on either side of him began firing at him; again he spun to dodge them, deflecting one laser so that he returned it to the sender, but wasn't quick enough to deflect the other laser. It barely impacted on his shoulder and neck, but it was powerful enough to cause his vision to seeped into blackness.

"Fox, are you Ok?"

No answer came.

"FOX!"

They were now merely hundreds of feet away from the ocean surface; no matter that it was water; at this speed, Fox would die hitting it. Falco was finally over Fox and the four remaining drones, diving vertically towards them. He had to act fast; he separated four of his wings from his ship, and launched them at the drones, each wing successfully destroying one. He then angled his Arwing so that its underside faced Fox, and turned on a small tractor beam. Only fifty feet from the water, Fox adhered to the underside of his ship and Falco pulled-up; nearly skimming the water as he zoomed away.

"I GOT HIM!" Falco yelled, relieved.

"Wahooo!" The rest of the team cried, back on the Great Fox.

"ROB, prepare the med-bay; Fox is in a pretty bad shape, and probably unconscious."

"Affirmative." ROB replied.

"They saved him!" Beltino exclaimed. "Three cheers for Fox! Hip-hip – "

"Hooray..." the Panther said, lamely, as he pushed Beltino out the window. "Well team, you can't win 'em all. Let's get out of here and pick up Phil; he's unconscious at the base of this tower."


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: Puzzle**

Fox was falling... again, though he couldn't remember the first fall he had taken that day; he was too disoriented. He couldn't even tell which way was up or down; they seemed to be switching places so much. But he did know that with each second, he was getting closer and closer to the ground. How long would it be? One more instant before he hit? Ten seconds? 30? A minute? An hour? He was beginning to wonder if he would ever hit the ground. After awhile, he decided he would rather hit the ground than keep falling. And then he finally saw the ground coming up towards him, and immediately changed his mind. It was approaching him faster and faster with each passing second; it was now only a hundred feet away. At the last instant, Fox closed his eyes and waited for the... splat? Crunch? He guessed he would find out.

But he finally hit the ground. No splat, no bone shattering crunch; it was as if he had landed on a giant pillow. He sat up from his crumpled position, and examined where he had landed. _An Arwing?_ He had fallen into the cockpit of an open Arwing, landing on the cushioned seat. He groggily climbed out and hopped to the floor, looking around. He was in a large garage that doubled as a hanger, but that was about all he could make out, as dark shapes were swimming across his vision, blurring it. He turned around and noticed a figure crouching over something, deeply engrossed in it. Fox decided to approach it.

As he walked towards it, he heard several strange voices; they were far off, distant, a mix between a whisper and a shout. _Oh, thank goodness you caught him – Is he alright? – I think he's barely alive – Winston, help me carry him to the med-bay, Krystal, I know you want to be with him, but I think Beltino was pushed out, too; you have too go save... _and then the voices faded away, completely. When he was a couple feet away, the animal's ears perked up, and he stood and turned around to face Fox.

"Nice to see you again, Fox."

Fox's vision crystallized, along with his other nine senses (There are more than five, didn't you know?) He realized the animal was his father.

"Dad, you again?"

"Right."

"How can you keep appearing to me like this? Are you like a ghost, or, something?"

"Yes... I suppose I am, in a way."

"Then you're... dead?"

"At least dead to the world, son. Well, I'm not really dead to the world; I'm talking to you, remember? And you're part of the world."

"Can't you ever say something that actually makes sense?" Fox complained.

"Ah-ah-aah! Rule number six; never make sense." His father corrected.

Fox counted off on his fingers. "One, two, three, four... six. What's rule number five?"

"Didn't you just hear what rule number six was?"

"Oh, right..." Fox stood awkwardly for a few seconds. "So... what are you working on?"

His father stood aside, presenting his project.

"A puzzle? Seriously, a puzzle?"

"Yup. I could use a little help, though."

Fox sighed, but eventually gave in. He sat down next to his dad and began examining the pieces.

"I never thought I would be putting together a puzzle with my dad."

"Everyone's putting together the same puzzle, Fox. But it's not guaranteed everyone will get the same thing picture when they're done."

"Wait a minute, where's the box?"

"The what?"

"The box; where is it?"

"It doesn't have one."

"Then how the heck are we supposed to put it together? We have nothing to go by."

"You don't need something to go by, though it would be helpful. Because the puzzle didn't have one from the start. But people have taken some stabs at what it looks like, or have claimed it looks like after they finish it."

"Like what?"

"Well, the most common things people see are a gear, a pocket knife, or a match; anythingg close to those."

"Seems random."

"Not really; it will make sense in the future." They worked for a few moments in silence. Fox still couldn't tell what the puzzle was making. The voices came back, distracting Fox a bit; _Set him__on this bed__, boys, and take his shirt off – __Ooh, man__, that doesn't look good – I think I'm going to be sick, Mr. Lombardi – Try to hold it in, Winston, this is Fox's life we have to save – Here, help me clean the wound..._

"What's the use of putting the puzzle together?"

"It shows your outlook on – Well, I can't tell you that."

"Gaaah!" Fox let out in frustration.

"Shout all you want, as long as you never give up." Again, there was another few moments of silence where Fox stubbornly forced himself to slave away at the puzzle. Each puzzle piece was a random scene from life; a sunset, a person, a building, or even a word.

"I'm starting to see a pattern." Fox said.

"What?"

"Pieces with the same general color fit together."

"Oh, right... wonder how I never noticed that before." Another stretch of silence. "You know, Fox, there are three general types of worldviews; empiricism, idealism, and spiritualism."

"What are the differences?"

"The only one difference, actually, is where they draw their conclusions from; empiricists use logos, idealists use pathos, and spiritualists use ethos."

"Logos, pathos, and... ethos?"

"Bearistotle's three types of persuasion; logic, emotion, and authority."

"Which type of person has it right?"

"None of them; they're only getting part of the picture. By ignoring other types of persuasion, they come up with flawed ideas." He gestured to the puzzle. "And thus, different final arrangements in the end. But it all comes down to what you consciously and unconsciously base your decisions off of; each group has there own postulates; wait, you know what postulates are, right?"

"I remember hearing them in high school, but I kind-of failed those classes."

"I can see..." His dad commented as he observed how Fox was trying to fit together two pieces. "Well, postulates are the starting blocks, or the foundation, of reasoning. Every study has them; the postulates for geometry are axioms; they allow for really complicated theorems that are always true. The same goes for mathematics, and science's postulates are scientific laws. Postulates also exist for logic, as well. There are no ways of proving these postulates; people have tried and tried, but they can't. Do we assume they are false? No, of course not. If we assumed them false, then there would be no way your Arwing could fly, or scientists could have made it."

"And what are each groups postulates?"

"Empiricists claim the Big-Bang started the universe. So far, they haven't come up with a way to prove it, even though there is so much that indicates it happened. However, they don't know why it started in the first place. Energy was constantly turning into matter and antimatter, which canceled out and turned back into energy again. But inexplicably, one day, there was one more atom of matter than antimatter created, which won the scientifically un-winable war and created a whole bonanza of extra atoms. How did it happen? They don't know; that's their postulate."

"Is the Big-Bang real?"

"There is much evidence for it, but there are several flaws and they can't figure out how it started. Scientists may take care of those flaws, but they haven't been able to so far."

"What about idealists?"

"Idealist's are actually the stupidest of the bunch; they don't even have postulates they're conscious of; they believe in things like honor, friendship, true love, the survival of the next generation. These are all caused by inner feelings they have in their heart, along with instincts caused by their brain. Their postulate is that they are supposed to follow these feelings and ideals, because their heart and conscience tell them to. But why are they supposed to? This is there postulate; that are are supposed to. But then you can ask, if there was a supposing, who did it? Who told them to follow their hearts?"

The echoing voices broke in again; _Oh, good to see you caught Beltino – They knew you would save me; it was just a joke – Fox! Is he going to be Ok? – Krystal, he has a pulse, but... I don't know how to say this... he may not make it – Oh God, help him!_

"And spiritualists?"

"They trust the word of special individuals; mostly prophets. But how can they prove them to be true? How can they prove God?"

"They can't."

"Right. God is their postulate. They trust in an authority they can't prove. All three groups do, in fact."

"You know what; you are just weirding me out. You've never been this... crazy before. You've never philosophized like this when I knew you."

"Son, when all you have is your mind to play with, you get kind-of bored. This is the absolute I am looking for. What are the correct postulates? I hope you have been doing your homework." Thankfully, Fox put the last piece of the puzzle in, before he had to answer.

"Finished!"

"Ah, nice. What do you see, son?"

"A knife."

"Close enough to the pocket opener."

"Well... what do _you _see?"

"A lighter, which is close to the match. I've seen both a screw and a knife before."

"Wait, you did this puzzle before?"

"This is my third time. I haven't been satisfied the other two times, so I started over with the pieces. I will have to start over again, and I suggest you do, too."

"Right. Well, I will try that. So.. what are we going to do now?"

"We'll have another session." His dad said as he reached to take off his sunglasses, but Fox looked away. James just laughed and said, "I'm joking, Fox. You'll go out the peaceful way." And with that, his dad gave him a hug, and then reached for Fox's eyes. He slid his eyelids shut, and then opened them.

Fox was blinded by bright, florescent lights. He reached up to rub his eyes so the fog of grogginess would go away. He heard a gasp and a sob. When his eyes cleared, he was looking up into Krystal's face.

"Krystal..." He choked out.

"I'm here, Fox. Don't move; you might worsen the – " But Fox cut her off by sitting up and kissing here for a few seconds, glad to be alive and with her again. "Fox," she whispered in his ear. "You really shouldn't..."

"Why? If I have time to breathe, I have time to kiss my girl, don't I? I'll be alright; I won't exhaust myself."

"It's not that," she continued. "You have other visitors."

Fox looked around the room to see Falco, Slippy, Amanda, Beltino, Winston, and ROB, all standing around him.

"Oh..." His face flushed beneath his fur.

"Relax, Fox," Falco said. "We don't care what you do after you wake up from falling thousands of feet and getting more wounds on the way down than you probably would have if you hitthe ground."

"But he really should try to keep up his strength," Amanda fretted. "Any movement could cause more blood-loss."

"Just like my mom, Amanda..."

"Sorry, but it's time to change your bandages." She pulled off the shoulder bandage, and then wiped the blood away with a damp cloth. Her eyes widened when she had finished. "It's gone!"

"What do you mean it's gone?" Beltino asked.

"He had a monstrous sized wound from a laser cannon on his shoulder, and it's gone! The blood's there, but no wound!"

"That doesn't make any sense..." Winston said. Amanda next unwrapped the bandage around his arm, rubbed the blood away, and held it up for them to see.

The team gasped again.

"No... freakin'... way..." Falco said. Amanda pulled off the rest of his numerous bandages, but the results proved to be the same.

"Fox, get out of this bed!" She ordered, pointing away from it. "You have no reason to be in the med-bay! You're perfectly fine, somehow!"

Fox slid out of the medical bed, and put his t-shirt back on.

"It happened again, didn't it, Fox?" Krystal said.

"This has happened to him before?" Slippy asked.

"Guess there's no point in hiding it. Let's just say, I was somehow wounded in my sleep, had a crazy, realistic dream about my dad, woke up, and was healed. I had another dream this time, and the same thing happened. I don't want to talk about it anymore, though."

The team was silent.

"Well come on!" Beltino finally said. "We have a war to fight, don't we?"

"Right. Have I missed anything while I was in the coma?"

"Yes; General Stealer has finished amassing her forces and has issued an invitation for us to join her. She is attempting to take back the Beltino gateway."

"Sounds like a good plan. ROB, set course for – "

"I heard you, I heard you." ROB answered.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: A Matter of Faith**

It only took the Great Fox an hour to reach the position of the gathering army of the Cornerian Defense Force. The team was standing in the bridge of the Great Fox, admiring the vast arrays of battleships and fighters. Beltino told the team the specifics of each craft as he pointed to them. Some were rather old, while the majority had recently been manufactured.

"I had a large part in developing these craft, didn't you know?" Beltino said. He pointed to the largest cruiser in the middle of the formation. "The most noticeable ship you see there, is a Centauri Class Flagship, which is probably General Stealer's personal cruiser. No two flagship are alike; each officer customizes his with favorite weapons and designs. Only the highest rank of officer can possess them, as they are the largest, most powerful, and expensive cruiser in the army." Next he pointed to two cruisers that passed several thousand feet in front of the Great Fox. "The two most common cruisers are the Hercules and Pleiades Class Battleships; the standard attack cruisers of the army. The Phoenix Class Vanguards are the brunt of the fleet; they lead the attack into the heart of the enemy, clearing the way for the rest of the army to enter in. The vanguards carry every conceivable weapon known to animal kind; one million kilowatt lasers (that's fifty times as powerful as the Great Fox!) antimatter missiles, quark-gluon plasma missiles (which, actually, can be considered the sixth state of matter), and finally, dark matter bombs; these are used to expand the space in between enemy cruisers so they can elbow their way in; dark matter actually has the reverse effect of gravity; it increases space instead of sucking it in. Personally, this cruiser is my favorite of the bunch, as it has so much cutting edge technology."

Fox partially tuned out Beltino's ramblings as he stood in awe at the fleet. It was hard to believe they could ever lose the war whenever he saw the might of the Cornerian forces, and this was less than one third of the Cornerian Defense Force, and he still hadn't counted Dash Bowman's forces or the combined armies of the Federation of the Trade Planets.

"Those big, rotund looking cruisers are fat for a reason." Beltino continued. "The Taurus Class Frigates carry the majority of ships, ground vehicles, soldiers, munitions, and weapons for the rest of the fleet. And, finally, the Andromeda Class Guardians protect the rest of the fleet; they utilize massive shields around them to block enemy lasers, but they can also return fire. Curiously, their shields are not energy based shields; they are mad out of helium-4 atoms cooled past their solid state to the Bose-einstein state; a phase colder and harder than the solid phase of matter. They cool down projectiles and explosions so they don't do any real harm. Remarkable, isn't it?"

"Hm?" Fox snapped out of his trance. "Oh, yes; quite mind-blowing," he said, absently. As the Great Fox entered into the midst of the fleet, a squad of Cornerian all-purpose fighters came to escort them. Soon, a message came through to the Great Fox, and ROB played it.

The holo-projector displayed a female raccoon general outfitted with numerous medals.

"Ah, McCloud and co. Nice to see you have finally arrived."

"General Stealer!" Fox and the rest of the team saluted. Falco looked up from the blaster he was still trying to fix, noticed everyone saluting, and quickly gave his own awkward salute.

"Welcome to the second division of the Cornerian Defense Force," General Stealer continued. "As you know, we are preparing to retake the Beltino Orbital Gateway that the Androssian army recently captured and moved to Sector Y. I will have to inform you of the plan – " here she glanced off the screen and noticed some commotion in the background. "Blast it; I was hoping this could wait 'till after we discussed the plans, but she is rather a pushy type. Team Starfox; there is someone here who is very anxious to see you – " But she was cut off when a pink feline rudely pushed her aside.

"Make way for Katt, sister."

Falco sat up in his seat.

"Katt? What the heck are you doing here?" Falco was in shock.

"What do you think I'm doing? Helping you guys kick some monkey tail! I haven't seen you all since the party after the Anglar Blitz!" She paused, thoughtfully. "Come, to think of it, I don't even remember that party... it _was_ a wild one."

"Is she going to work along side us?" Slippy asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes." General Stealer said as she poked her head back into the hologram but quickly ducked out again when Katt gave her a dirty look.

"So, what do you think?" Katt asked. Falco grabbed Fox by the collar of his shirt, lifting him out of his chair, and pulling him over to the side.

"Fox, you can't let her join!" he urgently whispered.

"But why?" Fox whispered back, taking a moment to put on a fake smile and wave at Katt.

"Because... gah!.. I don't know! She'll screw the rest of us up... somehow!"

"I don't see any reason to keep her from joining; she's a good pilot, we've seen that from the Lylat Wars and Anglar Blitz, and even during the Titania incident. You of all people should be the most welcoming! You were in that gang with her, what was it? The Hot Rodders? And you should like having her around! She's a great friend of yours, isn't she? In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if you and she were in..." Falco furiously shook his head. "Love... So that's it! You're too embarrassed around her! If I invited her onto the team for awhile, you would just die..." Fox whirled around to face Katt again. "We accept!"

"Great! I'll be over in a few minutes or so. Oh, and Falco..."

Falco gulped, audibly.

"You still owe me that drink." She smiled at him, but then turned to leave. "Well, I have to get over there soon, and I guess this raccoon chick has to talk with you, so, Katt out!" And with that, she walked out of the hologram. General Stealer took her place, watching as she left.

"Again, a pushy woman, that feline." She straightened her military attire for a second. "Now here's the plan; your team, a few of my cruisers, and myself, will go into the airspace around the gate. It's a short distance; we should be able to warp there without the assistance of a gate. Once there, we'll knife our way into the fleet, and make it to the gate at the center. While my fleet and I are guarding you, you must break your way into the gate itself, and into the control room. Beltino can give you the specifics on this next step when you get there; you'll need him for it. When you activate the gate, and give them a signal, the rest of my fleet will make a jump to your approximate location; the gate, when turned on in the opposite way, will act as a net, catching the warping fleet and bringing them out of hyperspace. They will come out in the middle of the enemy, reinforcing us for an easy victory; they won't know what hit them. If they just warped there by themselves, they could come out anywhere in the general area; that's why we need the gate to act as a net. Mr. Toad, you obviously know how to perform this operation, do you not?"

"Of course; I will relay the instructions to Fox when the time comes."

"I don't know, General," Fox warned. "Are you really coming with us on a suicide mission? If we fail, you'll be captured, or worse."

"I have a lot of faith in you, Starfox. And if I go, it will take their main focus off of you and onto me so you can go about you mission safer. Regardless, you have to take me along. Are we clear?"

"Yes, General."

"Perfect; Fox, these ships will take you to where your attack escort is waiting; I will join you in a few moments."

"Will do, general."

"Oh, and one last thing; I would like to apologize for how the rest of the Cornerian Military and Government have been acting; they were wrong to accuse you in the first place, and to deny your aide when they most needed your help. Not everyone on Corneria is sympathetic towards mercenaries; especially when their tails are saved by them every few years."

"Understood, General." Fox replied.

"Alright; the next time I see you will be in the battlefield; Stealer out." And with that, the communication ended.

"Fox, you didn't tell her about the AWG and the rest of the baddies," Slippy complained.

"This is neither the time nor the place for that. First, we had no business being in that facility at all; second, she might not believe us if we told her, thinking that we're just insane; and lastly, we have no substantial proof. We can deal with them after this whole mess is cleaned up." He gazed out over the military fleet and sighed. "If we ever get it cleaned up."

An hour later, the team with the addition of Katt were seated in their ships in the hanger of the Great Fox. The ship jerked as it came out of hyperspace, and Amanda's voice came over the intercom.

"We have arrived at the Beltino Orbital Gate! Starfox we are go!"

As the hangar doors opened, Fox waved his hand forward for the rest of the team to take off. Their ships blasted out of the hangar, taking up positions in front of the Great Fox. Chills ran down Fox's spine as he saw the Androssian fleet again, silhouetted by the brilliant green of Sector Y; somehow, they had only grown in strength since their last encounters at Fichina and Sector X. The Beltino Orbital Gate was roughly at the center of the fleet, closely guarded by several Draco Class Battleships, Andross' newest addition to the army, as well as a flagship. The rest of their Cornerian escort came out of hyperspace in front and around them; five Phoenix Class Vanguards, three Andromeda Class Guardians, four Pleiades Class Battleships, and General Stealer's own flagship. It was obvious they were outnumbered; it was hilarious, even. But they soon wouldn't be, _if _their mission went well.

"Launch all fighters! Repeat, Launch all fighters!" ordered General Stealer. "This is going to get a bit messy."

"What in 'ell's name is goin' on out there?" Shouted General Slash, the commanding Androssian officer.

"What do you think is going on, you idiot?" replied General Stealer. "We're attacking you!"

"Well you picked a bloody awful time to do it! I was in the middle of a bowlin' tournament! Couldn't you postpone it?"

"Nonsense! Get your tale into your flagship's bridge and fight us like the coward you are! We aren't waiting!"

The enemy general was a battle-scarred tiger, his orange and black stripes were inverted so that the orange were stripes over a black background. Fox wondered if his fur was natural, or if he just had it dyed that way. General Slash formed a menacing grin.

"Guess you aren't gonna play nice, eh?" He turned to his inferiors. "Get a move on! Prepare all cruisers in the 10th sector, and launch all fighters in the area as well! Somethin' funny's going on; that puny group o' attackers aren't gonna last long; they must 'ave somethin' up their sleeve. Keep an eye out."

The Androssian cruisers around the 10th sector, the cluster the Cornerian team was approaching, blinked to life; Androssian all-purpose fighters began spewing forth from their hangars in vast swarms and cannons were prepped and aimed. When they were within range of each other, both General Stealer and Slash yelled, "OPEN FIRE!"

Each side began launching multi-colored lasers at the other; the cruiser's shields absorbing most of the rounds.

"Vanguards! Break our way in!" Each of the five Phoenix Class Vanguards spread their attack fins out; massive, fire-colored lasers poured from the fins in large waves, burning their way through the enemies' shields. When they were close enough, they launched their dark matter bombs, which inflated the space between several Androssian Cruisers. Then, they lead the rest of the attack force into the enemy fleet in the space they had cleared.

"What the heck are they trying to do?" mused General Slash. "Destroy the gate? Travel through it? Or better yet, join my bowling tournament? If so, too bad, only men are allowed."

"Rats, I was hoping I could join you, Slash."

"Either way, you're a crazy woman. I'm guessing the rest of yer fleet will pop out o' hyperspace sometime, hm?"

"Oh, blast it, you found out my plan. How brilliant of you," Stealer said, dripping with sarcasm.

"Well, I think I'll send a little surprise to your friends. Fleets from sectors three, four, and five; take the gate to Corneria; hunt down the rest of Miss Stealer's fleet for me; and keep 'em occupied. We'll see if they come to your aide now!"

"I think we underestimated General Slash, Ma'am." Fox sounded worried now.

"Right you did!" Slash gloated. "You might as well turn back now; they ain't comin' for ya!"

"Come on Fox; we must have faith in them," Stealer encouraged him. "They'll come; we just have to open the door for them."

"Fine," Fox agreed. "The mission goes on!"

"Fighters, coming in!" Krystal warned.

"Where?" a Cornerian captain asked. "We're not picking any up on our visuals or radar!"

"Their coming from below us! Trust me; I can see them before they appear! Have everyone fire in that direction before it's too late!"

"Alright; I'm trusting you on this." The captain, confused, ordered his squad to fire all weapons below them, but the order payed off: Suddenly, out of nowhere, a squad of Androssian fighters shimmered into existence; right as the Cornerian fighters opened fire. The Androssians were surprised that their ploy had been found out; half of their fighters were hit by the blindly fired lasers, while the rest of the squad scattered for cover behind the larger Androssian Cruisers.

"Whoa; you must be some sorta telepath, miss," remarked the captain.

"The very best," Fox commented. "If not the _only_ telepath."

"Thanks you two!" Krystal replied.

"You just keep that up, and we'll go places," the captain husky finished.

The attack team drove its way into the Androssian fleet like a knife cuts its way through... uh... steak? Eventually, they fought their way to the gate. It was roughly the size of three battleships; its only defense weapons were several lite turrets the Androssians had taken over; they were merely capable of shooting down fighters; they would be no hindrance to the cruisers.

"All right, men, take up defensive positions! Starfox; start attacking that gate!"

"Right, General," Fox answered. "Team, follow me! Time to join the action!" He put on a song by Blink 'n Bark, another of his favorite rock bands; it was perfect to get their adrenaline pumping. He next lead the team over to the Orbital Gate. "Slippy! By my right!"

"Got it!" Slippy said as he pulled his Arwing 3.0 alongside Fox. As they approached the gate, they both changed their Arwings into ground mode; the six wings of each craft gracefully bent forward to cover the front of the ship, strengthening the nose. Next, the bottom blue fins also bent forward in a sweeping arc, extending collapsible wheels that adhered to the side of the gate. Finally, the rear engines flipped over the back of their ships, so that they pointed forward, now acting as heavy guns. Slippy was much better on the ground than he was at dogfights. The two tanks began approaching one of the side hangars to the compound. The rest of the team pulled away to cover them from any aerial attacks or to help the Cornerian Cruisers guard them.

Now it was the defense cruisers' turn to do their thing. The three Andromeda Class Guardians made a triangle formation around Fox's position, protecting him from any direct fire from the Androssian battleships. Their large shields extended outwards a few feet, then were activated. The Bose-Einstein matter glowed a bright blue, and formed compact hexagonal-shapes, while the rest of the small fleet, the vanguards and battleships, began weaving in and out of them, firing at the enemy that now surrounded them. The Draco Class Androssian Battleships fired their crimson colored lasers at the guardians, but when they impacted the super-cold shields, their energy was absorbed by the almost un-heatable substance.

"Sir!" an Androssian captain reported to General Slash. "Our lasers aren't doing anything to those defense ships! Their shields are impenetrable!"

"Just keep firing! They can't absorb _that _much energy. Try launching the Ninjin Missiles! Let's see if they can take explosives!" Sure enough, a few seconds later, several Ninjin Missiles zoomed their way through the newly formed no-man's land between the two forces, eventually hitting home on the defense cruiser's shields. But as soon as they did, the particles from the resulting explosions were crystallized to temperatures near zero kelvin, and floated away from them. Though the shields were unaffected by the heat from the missiles, the actual force from the explosions jarred several hexagon pieces out of their place.

"Now we're getting somewhere!" General Slash triumphantly stated. "Keep pounding them with those missiles! And what are our fighters doing? Wasting gas? Send 'em in!"

"More fighters are coming in again!" Krystal warned for a second time. "A whole swarm!"

"From which directions, miss?" the husky captain asked.

"They're going to go through the space in between the Andromedas! They're hugging the cruisers pretty close so it's too dangerous to fire at them!"

"Right, then, we'll have to wait for them. Bulldog units, make your way to the defense cruisers, husky units, stand by!" As the Androssian fighters shimmered out of their temporary warps, they quickly fired their laser cannons at the Cornerian squadrons.

"Scatter a bit, and fire back!" ordered the captain.

"Sir! Two, no, three bulldogs are down!" reported a sergeant.

"Fine; pull out and let the battleships take care of them." The Cornerians pulled away from the swarms of enemy fighters while the Pleiades Class Battleships exploded shrapnel around them. They succeeded in thinning out the swarm, but a large amount of fighters still made it though so that they were in the midst of the Cornerian Fleet; nearly too close for the battleships to safely fire at them anymore.

"Fox; bogeys have swarmed our position; watch out, will ya?" Katt warned.

"Got it." Fox and Slippy drove over a large crest in the Orbital Gate's side. "I can see the hangar gates..."

"Good job, Fox." Beltino congratulated him.

"...And, of course, they are guarded by two anti-aircraft turrets." When the two Androssians manning the cannons saw Fox and Slippy approaching, they trained their guns on them and opened fire. Fox performed a barrel-role with his tank, a difficult maneuver when in zero-gravity and the only thing keeping him from drifting off into space were his magnetic wheels.

"We need some help down here!" Slippy yelled. "We can't dodge these turrets!"

"Sorry, guys," Amanda said as she made a fly-by with the Great Fox. "I might hit you if I tried to hit the turrets, and the angle of attack is too hard, anyway!"

"Same problem here," Falco agreed as he passed over them.

"I think I can handle it," Krystal said. She put on her space helmet and grabbed her staff from the side compartment of her cockpit. She brought her Arwing close to the skirmish on the edge of the gate, set her ship to auto-pilot, and opened her cockpit to the vacuum of space.

"Krystal, what are you doing?" Fox said as he grimaced as he took a direct hit from a laser turret.

"Nothing." Krystal jumped out of her Arwing, the cockpit closing behind her, and activated her jet boots as she flew to the gate.

"Then where the heck are you?" Suddenly, a slim figure landed on the windshield of Fox's Arwing. He looked up to see Krystal kneeling on it, and she gave a little wave to him. "Are you crazy!?" He mouthed to her. She nodded back, straightening to her full height. She was now standing on Fox's Arwing as he and Slippy slowly approached the hangar gate amid the heavy turret fire. One of the turrets launched a plasma bolt at Fox's Arwing, but Krystal was ready. She brought her staff forward so that it hit the bolt, and it majestically absorbed the energy from it. She jumped up into the air, spun around, and launched the plasma bolt back at the tower. The bolt made impact, and the surprised Androssian took a few moments in an attempt to figure out what had happened as he sat motionless. _Duck,_ Fox told Krystal with his mind. She pressed herself low against the window as Fox fired several lasers from his main gun at the turret, and the combined force succeeded in blowing it up. "One turret down!" he said, triumphantly.

"Well that's nice and all, but I still got one firing at me!" Slippy exclaimed. The turret fired several pot shots at Slippy, just as Krystal jumped through the air towards him. She absorbed another plasma bolt with her magic staff, then, when she landed on Slippy's tank, she flung it back at the tower. Slippy had already weakened his turret, so it blew up on impact. Slippy waved in appreciation at Krystal, then Fox's voice came over the intercom.

"Still at my side, Slippy?"

"Yup."

"Good; now all we have to do is blast our way into the hangar. Forward!"

Falco and Katt were expertly trailing several Venomian fighters around the surface of the Orbital Gate.

"Watch out;" Falco warned. "That one's breaking away!"

"I see him!" Katt answered as she shot the fighter down.

"This is like cleaning up garbage from the team's garage back home!" Falco remarked.

"Must be nice, having friends to fight along side with all the time," Katt pleasantly said as she shot down another fighter.

"Uh, yah, I guess." Falco evened out the score.

"It was fun working alongside of you in the Hot Rodders while it lasted. Hey, do you mind if I temporarily joined the team? Just for this war? I could use some time to get to know everyone, and _we_ could always spend some more time together." Falco gulped as he missed the fighter he was shooting at. Why hadn't the fighters broken off and left the gate, instead of continuing on their course to be shot down?

"Are we going to trail them all the way around the gate?" he quickly changed the subject. "Eventually, we might come up on... Fox..."

Fox and Slippy blew apart the hangar gate and proceeded to make their way towards it. Suddenly, Fox got an urgent message from Falco.

"What is it?"

"Fighters, coming from behind! You better get in there, fast!" he warned Fox.

"They're here!" Krystal exclaimed.

"Don't mind us," Fox ordered. "Just focus on taking them out!"

"If you say so..." Katt said. Together, she and Falco opened fire on the fighters, hoping to take as many down as possible before they got to Fox and Slippy. But they couldn't shoot them all down.

"Krystal; get down!" Falco shouted as they came up on them. But she wouldn't; she jumped between Slippy and Fox's tanks again, absorbing a few lasers that almost hit Slippy before she jumped off, and absorbing several more lasers before they could hit Fox's tank. The staff was now burning in her paws from all the stored energy. Once again, she leapt into the air, so that she was level with the on-coming fighters. She released the energy from the staff in a giant, blinding beam that knocked nearly all the fighters from the air, destroying them. Falco and Katt rolled away just in time to escape the death ray.

"Don't _ever _do that again!" Fox ordered when Krystal came back down.

"I promise." She said, visibly crossing her fingers.

"Alright, Slippy, _now _we can get into the Orbital Gate!"

"About time!"

General Slash was growing impatient. His battleships had failed to break into the small Cornerian fleet and bring down even a single cruiser, and to make matters worse, they seemed to be entering the gate.

"No more pussy-footin' around!" he exclaimed. "Let's end this!" He flew his giant flagship through his own forces until he came up on an Andromeda Guardian. "All missiles, FIRE!" The Ninjin missiles just kept coming; eventually, he completely destroyed the frigid shield, leaving the guardian defenseless. "Finish it," he spat to his officers. A hail of lasers were fired upon the defense ship, completely annihilating it. The rest of the Cornerian cruisers instinctively opened fire upon his flagship.

"Bad move, Slash," General Stealer said. "You should have more faith in your men; now you're risking your own flagship to get the job done."

"_I _don't have enough faith? _You_ have _too much _faith in your men that will never come!"

"I am willing to gamble my excess of faith against your lack of faith any day, General." Stealer maneuvered her flagship so that it was broadsiding Slash's flagship. "Once my men show up, you'll be too close to escape from them!"

Fox, Slippy, and Krystal easily took out the remaining guards inside the Orbital Gateway, and followed Beltino's instructions on how to work the warp net. Once finished, they got back in their Arwings which were parked in the hangar, and took off to join the fight again.

"Did you do it?" asked General Stealer as she frantically combated her enemy's flagship.

"Yes, ma'am! We also sent the signal."

"Now all we have to do is survive, and hope," she answered. But it was looking pretty grim; they had gotten no communications from the rest of the fleet, and the Androssian forces had just broken through another defense cruiser; their barrier was as good as gone now, as the enemy forces were pouring in.

"MAJOR IRONSTRIPE, WHERE ARE YOU!" General Stealer exclaimed.

"Looks like your buddies forgot about you... or were too tied up at the moment with my men." General Slash rained a concentrated hail of lasers upon his opponent general's flagship, piercing its shields.

"Fox! A little help here!" General Stealer pleaded.

"Amanda; see if you can break those shields!" Fox ordered.

"Hold on to your breeches, Winston; this isn't gonna be pretty." As Amanda flew the Great Fox over towards Slash's flagship, she glanced back at Winston. "I was speaking figuratively, Winston."

"Well I ain't got figurative breeches, if that's what you meant," he answered. But he quickly grabbed onto his seat as the Great Fox shook from turret fire. Amanda pulled their dreadnaught battleship in close to the flagship's flank, where she ran along side of it. She went all out with the Great Fox's overpowered plasma cannons and smart bombs, which eventually wore out the flagship's shields.

"Alright, Fox, you can move in."

"Team; follow me to the bridge!" The Starfox team, along with Katt, trailed behind Fox as he lead the way to the flagship's main bridge. Once there, he spread out his Arwing's six wings, charging their laser cutters. He then raked them into the bridge's windshield, cutting all the way through. As he flew around the whole bridge, slicing the entire window as he went, his team followed behind, firing their lasers into the bridge, exploding bits of machinery and monitors.

General Slash was surprised, but unharmed in the midst of his exploding bridge. As the air was sucked into the vacuum of space through the shattered windshield, he groped around for a space helmet. Finally finding one, he whipped it onto his head, locking it in place.

"Send up some men to the bridge, quick! And bring heavy anti-aircraft guns!" He stumbled over to the controls, wheeling his ship around to face General Stealer's. "Still, nothing can stop me now from shooting you down to Hades!"

But before he could open fire, the Orbital Gate suddenly lit up. An energy gate materialized, expanding wide enough for several cruisers to fit through at the same time; and the rest of the Cornerian forces came through.

"Sorry it took so long, Miss," said Major Brock Ironstripe, the temporary leader of the forces. He was a massive, intimidating badger who didn't like ordering people around from his cruiser, because he had no excuse to smash people's heads together unless he was in ground combat. "We ran into a few enemies while we were waiting for the signal, and couldn't come immediately." His forces surrounded Slash's flagship, quickly cutting him off from the rest of his fleet.

"BLAST IT!" Slash shouted as he stared out through the bridge's broken window at the reinforced Cornerian army.

"A bet's a bet," bragged General Stealer. "Looks like you lost. I think you better surrender, or we might have to blow you to Kingdom Come, and we don't want that, do we?" She smiled.

General Slash sat down on his control seat, at a loss.

"Call off the fleet," he spat into his communicator.

"YAAAAHOOOOO!" Slippy yelled as he and the rest of the team took a victory lap around the distraught enemy flagship.

**A/N Decided not to split up chapters unless they are waaaay too ****long.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18: Watch it Crash**

I - Maybe this will work for breaks

"HEEEY! WAIT FOR US!" Leon yelled at the top of his lungs as he and his fellow teammates ran as fast as they could after the escaping train.

"You blokes better step it up if you're gonna catch this train!" the Saint Bernard conductor called back to them as he hopped onto the train. Starwolf had just arrived at the Macbethan train station a few minutes ago, and had been rushing all the way. Panther was the first to reach the train; he hopped onto the conductor's step and pulled Wolf, then Jet up behind him. Leon, however, was not so fortunate. As he chased after the train, it became apparent that he would never reach the others on the conductor's step, so he decided to do without it. He jumped onto the side of the car, latching on to any protrusions that were easy to grab. As the train picked up speed, it slowly maxed out at roughly one hundred miles per hour; it was now blowing his face into several humorous expressions, but he had to overlook the embarrassment. The rest of his team was leaning out the side door, waving him on and holding their paws out for him. If there was one thing Leon was never late for, it was a war. After no little amount of determination and willpower, he climbed his way over to the door, and was pulled in. He fell gasping to the steal floor, wiping his brow from perspiration, even though the weather on Macbeth was quite frigid. The conductor congratulated Leon by shaking his hand.

"My good fellow, I have seen many insane attempts to board a moving train in my career, but I must say, yours has topped them all. Now... I am guessing you are Starwolf?"

"Right," Wolf answered. He handed the Saint Bernard the papers he needed to check, and had them returned to him in only a few seconds.

"Everything is in order. Gentlemen, welcome aboard engine 5030, informally known as, 'The Cannonball Express.' Your squad is several cars up front; you should go join them. You will be sharing car four with them, and mind you, it will get a little crammed. This ain't no passenger train, ya know."

"Thank you," Wolf replied as he jerked Leon off the ground and onto his feet, waving to the conductor as he left to make his rounds. But the conductor poked his head back through the automatic doors a few seconds later.

"Oh, and beware of Cannonball Pete; he is a rather eccentric fellow, if you know what I mean." And the conductor disappeared for the last time. Wolf gestured for the rest of the team to follow him to their specific squad. As they made their way through the train, it became obvious that it was a freighter. It was carrying loads of weapons, munitions, explosives, machinery pieces, and food to relieve the desperate soldiers in the action. But it also carried military personal, too, as the front half of the train had been converted into a temporary passenger carrier, packed with nervous soldiers. Wolf nodded to each group of soldiers they passed and sometimes shook hands with them. He personally didn't like doing it, but he knew he had to keep their morale up.

They finally arrived at their specific squad's compartment. The soldiers were spread throughout the room, either admiring the Macbethan scenery out the windows, joking with each other, having a good smoke, or playing a game of poker. The sergeant of the squad, a rugged, battle-scarred jaguar, stood up from the poker game and strode over to the team.

"Welcome, Starwolf, I'm Sergeant Usher," he said as he shook each of their hands. "I was beginning to think you missed the train."

"We very nearly did," Leon said. Wolf gave him a quick glare which stopped him from going into anymore detail.

"Well, happens to everyone, I guess. But it's time you met the squad. Don't expect to remember their names right off the bat." The sergeant proceeded to rattle off each of the twelve soldiers' names, pointing to them as he did so. "And now that we've got that out of the way, why don't you introduce your team, O'Donnell?"

"Right," Wolf began, gesturing at Leon. "This is Leon Powalski, the only other original member of my team. He's an assassin, and a bit of a pyromaniac. Keep him away from the explosives until the time comes." The squad chuckled. "Next to join was Panther Caroso; besides being a skilled pilot and a marksmen, he is a bit of a lady's man; be glad your wives aren't on this trip with us." Panther smiled and elbowed Wolf while the squad laughed some more. "And the most recent member," Wolf continued, "Is Jet Raven. He's an assassin like Leon, and better at ground work than aerial combat, but we'll shape him into a good pilot. Oh, and don't attempt to buy him any drinks; he's under age." Jet's face turned red beneath his plumage as the soldiers snickered again.

"Again, nice meeting the legendary, if not infamous, Starwolf," said Sergeant Usher. "I'm guessing you are quite familiar with this mission?"

"Actually, no," said Leon. "We weren't told much; they said you would fill us in."

"Well, how much do you know?"

"We get the gist of it." Wolf said. "A militia band is protecting a large group of workers holed up in a mining compound, somewhere, and we are being sent to aide them. That's about it."

"Might as well tell you the whole story," the spotted jaguar continued. "Several of this planet's largest mines and factories have been taken over by the Androssians. The workers were forced to work their tails off for the loony monkey's cause, and have been quite restless. Recently, though, the workers staged many heated strikes, rebelling in massive uproars. They were met with extreme oppression form the Androssians, but the Free Trade Federation managed to send some troops in to help them rebel. Now this is where we come in; we are headed to the largest mine in all of Macbeth, where a large task force of workers, their families, and soldiers have holed up. Most of the fighting has been taking place underground, actually, in the large network of mines. Our goal is to help them reach the surface by providing them with extra supplies, weapons, and troops. And, of course, this elite team of fighters." He gestured around to the occupants of the car. "They also said something about a scientist you were supposed to meet up with in the mine. What was his name again? Something about vomiting?"

"Stillo Blechette," Panther corrected.

"Right; that's his name. Anyways, main goal is to help the workmen escape."

"How, exactly, are the Androssians stopping them from getting out?" Wolf asked.

"They've taken over the factory where the mines come out, along with the top few layers of the mine," the sergeant explained. "They aren't trying to kill all the workers; otherwise, they would have just collapsed the mines and been done with them. But they need the workers alive, and the mines intact."

"But, if they've taken over the factory on top, how will we get the supplies to them?" Wolf leaned against the car's wall and crossed his arms. "They must have set up road blocks and barricaded them in."

"They've taken up positions in and around the factory, as well as diverting the tracks of any in-bound trains. A small group of the militia will adjust the tracks before we arrive, but we'll have to fight our way into the mine while protecting the train. We'll stop a few miles from the factory and wait for the signal that they've changed the tracks. Did I explain it well enough?"

"Sure," Wolf replied.

"Is that a... game of poker?" Leon hopefully said as he peeked over one of the men's shoulders.

"Yup."

"Mind if we join?" Panther asked.

I

An hour later, the Starwolf team, Sergeant Usher, and several of his squad were seated around a large table, the rest of the soldiers standing behind them, watching. Jet was seated closest to the window, but his mind not completely on the game. He admired the passing scenery of Macbeth's landscape; there were large, open fields of sparse, grey grass, forests of hardy birnam wood, and snow covered mountains they occasionally traversed. Though much of the scenery was industrialized, and large factories could be seen polluting the air, Macbeth still managed to keep some amount of nostalgia; the sun was dripping through the cloudy overcast in long, brilliant rays, as well as lighting up the clouds around it like fire.

Jet heard one of the players clear his throat, but payed it no attention; he was too captivated by the landscape outside the window. Finally, Leon gave him a nudge with his shoulder, bringing him back to the game.

"Your move, Jet."

After taking a quick inventory of the table, he simply remarked, "I fold," as he gave up his cards. The current game had become much too high a cost for him. It was now down to Wolf, Leon, Panther, and Sergeant Usher. The play passed to Panther, who immediately raised the ante with a hundred point onyx chip.

"Hmm, a bit daring," remarked the sergeant as he matched Panther.

"But not daring enough." Wolf tossed in two of the onyx chips.

"Please gentlemen," Leon said, developing a smug grin. "We don't have to argue; we can settle it by going half in." And with that, he pushed half of his chips into the pile.

"Well that'll just about clean me out," Panther said, pushing all of his chips in. "But its worth it."

"Blast you three! I'm getting out of this one." The jaguar folded his cards.

"Might as well keep going," Wolf said as he pushed nearly all of his chips in.

"And now... the moment of truth." Leon said, laying down his cards. "A royal flush."

Panther set his cards on the table, and sunk back into his chair, folding his arms. The soldiers burst out laughing when they saw that he didn't even have a high card.

"Always the bluffer, Panther," Leon remarked.

"DARN YOU LEON!" Wolf roared as he furiously tossed his cards at his chameleon partner. He got up and left the table in a rage. "That's the fourth game in a row you've won!"

"I might've won," Panther remarked, "But his chameleon eyes can read two different hands at the same time."

"If there is one thing the Great Leon never does," he replied as he swept up the chips, "It's cheating." As he expertly stacked the chips, he asked, "Anyone for another game? I'm getting tired of winning, actually. Let's try something else."

"One of the soldiers can take my place; I'm tired of cards." Jet stood up and walked away from the table, too.

"I'm in the mood for a new, exotic game," Panther said. "You soldiers know any?"

"Us two could teach you how to play Darza," a soldier spoke up. "We learned it while on a mission in Titania. It's a heated game, and involves betting."

"Sounds perfect," Leon said.

"Right; so the object of the game is to get your paws on both of the jokers. Each player is dealt – " But he was interrupted by a violent explosion which shook the entire train. Wolf walked over and shook the sergeant's shoulders.

"How secretive was our little mission!?"

"About as secretive as you can get with a giant freight train barreling along on the countryside at one hundred miles per hour, carrying weapons of mass destruction. Why?"

Wolf let go of the sergeant and stepped over to the window.

"I think we're under attack." As soon as he dared to speak his thoughts, red lights began flashing on the ceiling, and alarms started blaring. The conductor's worried voice came over the wall-mounted speakers.

"Warning! The plan must have been found out! Several fighters are on our tail, trying to destroy the train! Starwolf, this is your turn to shine; you have to get rid of them... somehow!"

"Blast it!" Wolf exclaimed. "Alright; grab your weapons. Sergeant Usher, we will see you in a few minutes. This shouldn't take long."

"But how the heck are we supposed to get out there?" Panther asked.

"We'll pull a Leon." Wolf unlatched the window and opened it. He slowly worked his way out the window and onto the side of the train, grabbing onto a set of handles that led up to the roof. "Jet; you're with me. Panther, Leon, take the other side," he called back into the car. Jet climbed out after him, while Panther and Leon rushed over to the window on the other side. The wind whistled past Wolf, threatening to blow him off with every moment. As he grabbed onto the top rung of the ladder, he suddenly noticed the fighters had spotted them climbing out. The Androssian Raiders increased their speed so that they were only flying at most three cars away from them, keeping pace with the train. "Incoming!" he yelled at his teammates, but his voice was lost in the wind.

Several crimson-colored lasers streaked their way through the sky towards them, merely striking the roof of the train. Bits of metal were blasted off the roof, blowing away in the wind with the smoke of the explosions. Wolf finally climbed up onto the top of the roof, setting his boots firmly against a metal rail that protruded from it, struggling to keep his balance as he did so. He reached behind his back, pulling out a hand-held plasma launcher. Taking careful aim, he unleashed a volley of deadly projectiles at the fighters, knocking two of them out of the sky before the other eight were able to pull away.

_What are they gonna do now?_ he thought. And then it hit him; bombs. He traded the plasma launcher for his more precise blaster, waiting for one of the ships to fire. Sure enough, one of the ships launched a red nova bomb at them, but its flight path was slowed down from the intense air friction. In an instant, Wolf trained his blaster on the bomb and fired, exploding it a few cars away from them, mid-air.

"Panther!" he yelled. "Shoot the pilots!" Panther was the next one to reach the top; he pulled out a laser sniper, immediately loading a round and kneeling on the roof. It only took him a few seconds to find one of the pilots in his sights. He attempted to adjust for the unorthodox situation of the versatile train and fighters, but his first shot missed its target. The long, green beam penetrated the air with burst of energy, cutting its way through the pilot's window, though it still missed him. His second shot hit its target, sending the fighter, virtually pilot-less, flying out of control. "Keep it up," Wolf congratulated him as Panther loaded another round.

Next, several ropes dropped down from the backs of the fighters, and lizard and primate troops scurried down them and onto the train. And to make matters worse, the train passed several units of artillery stationed along the tracks that pounded its cars with destructive projectiles. _Alright... we may have to split up._

"Jet, come with me; we'll take those soldiers who just boarded us. Panther, stay here and shoot down as many fighters as you can. And Leon; find the engineer who operates this bucket of bolts and tell him to step on the gas. He'll be in the front engine." Leon set out towards the front of the train, while Wolf and Jet headed towards the enemy soldiers, leaving Panther to slowly take out the fighters. When they reached the end of the car, Wolf and Jet had to jump over the gap in between it and the next one, stumbling a bit when they landed. When their car hit a bump, Jet started to fall off the edge, but Wolf quickly grabbed onto him to keep him upright. "Try not to die, Jet."

Several lasers hit the top of the train close to where they were standing, and they looked to see the six Androssian soldiers taking up defensive positions on the car one away from them; two of the soldiers had some kind of shields they firmly planted into the roof, while the other four were standing behind them, blasters aimed. Before Wolf could make a move, Jet was off racing towards the group of enemies. "Jet! I just told you, try not to die!"

But it was too late for him to stop now; as two of the soldiers fired at him, he blocked the shots with his energy deflector, swinging it left, than quickly to the right as he did so. He leapt forward, sliding across the car's roof towards the enemies, like a baseball player sliding for home, easily aided by the strong air friction and slickness of the steal train. As he slid forward, he was able to shoot one of the soldiers with his blaster, causing the other three to duck. When he got close to the gap between the two cars, he rolled forward and jumped across, kicking away one soldier's shield and slamming into another. He quickly righted himself, and sliced his metal-edged feathers into the soldier he had knocked over, and kicked him away once he was dead. As he turned around, he had to quickly grab a blaster that a soldier nearly had pointed at his face, and wrestle him for it. He heard a commotion behind the hulking ape, who was growling at him as he forcefully leveled the gun at Jet's head. But a shot rang out, and the ape's head jerked forward before he clumsily fell over, revealing Wolf with his blaster smoking.

"I said, try not to die."

Jet grinned for a moment, then shouted, "Wolf!" as a wounded lizard soldier crept up behind him. They weren't done yet.

I

One... two... three... now half of the fighters had fallen to Panther's deadly accurate rifle.

"Like shooting fish in a barrel," he remarked to himself. "Hm... more like shooting birds in a bag, or a balloon, or, something. Let's see; who shall I pick next." He trained his scope on a new fighter that had appeared. When he zoomed in on the pilot, he gasped. "¡Hay Caramba! No... it couldn't be!" The pilot waved to him, then proceeded to clumsily shoot down several of the remaining fighters. "Wolf's not gonna like this."

Leon had more than his fair share of climbing, dangerous wind, and trains by the time he fell into the engineer's compartment. The engineer payed him no attention when he landed on the floor, and was still hunched over the controls. Leon walked up to him, and tapped him on the back.

"Excuse me, Mr... uh..." The engineer finally turned around to face Leon, giving him THE most crazy and maniacal grin he had ever seen.

"CANNONBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL PETE, they call me!" he madly shouted in a booming, yet gravelly voice. He blew a whiff of smoke that would make a dragon jealous into Leon's face, making him cough. Cannonball Pete was an old, flea bitten Schnauzer dog that looked like he spent more time being run over by trains than running them. He had a crazy, rabid look on his face, his eyes bulging out, his fur in mangy tufts around his face, and his tongue hanging out as he raggedly breathed. He wondered why Pete had ever been allowed to drive a train in the first place if anyone could see he was completely mad. Leon liked him immediately; he was his type of guy.

"Nice to meet you, Pete. As you may have noticed, we are under attack by Androssian forces, and we need to speed up this train if we are gonna make it to the mine in one piece."

"Do you mean, _more power_?" He was like the comic-strip Calvin being told he could use a flame-thrower on his teacher.

"Yes, I guess I mean – "

"MOOORE POWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRR!" Cannonball Pete exclaimed as he grabbed a throttle on the train's dashboard, thrusting it all the way forward. The engine sputtered out for a second, and Pete, his jubilant expression unchanged, jerked the throttle back and forth a few times before it finally roared to life again, picking up speed. The maniacal engineer stuck his head out the window, his tongue whipping around in the extreme breeze.

I

As Wolf and Jet fought the last two soldiers, the train suddenly lurched forward from its sudden increase in speed. The soldiers and Wolf completely lost their balance, but Wolf, unlike the clumsy Androssians, was able to stay on the train. Jet made a dive forward to grab Wolf before he fell too far behind, but wasn't fast enough, and had to grab onto a bar to keep from being blown backwards himself. Wolf was rolling and sliding across the back of the train, frantically grabbing at anything he could, but there was nothing. Finally, he slid all the way across the train, and fell off the back car, to his likely death on the tracks below.

Wolf rolled around to face the ground, but instead he found himself falling onto the windshield of a rickety old fighter. He extended his claws, digging into the sides of the cockpit, and looked into it. His jaw dropped when he saw Rico, the knuckle-headed Jack-rabbit from Titania piloting the dusty fighter. Rico formed a proud grin. Wolf looked over to his left where he saw another cheap ship flying beside Rico. The pilot, Kobe, gave him a friendly wave. _Oh no, _Wolf thought. He was already recalling bad memories from Titania. He slid off of the windshield and onto a more comfortable position on the wing, tapped on the glass, and Rico's response came over Wolf's headset.

"Nice to see you again, mate! I bet yer wondrin' what the bloody 'eck we're diong here!"

"Right!" Kobe chimed in. "We got a job switching some railroad tracks up ahead for this 'ere train!"

"And as we were passin' you by, we noticed you fellas could use a hand. And lucky we gave it to, you!"

"Well, thank you all for saving me," Wolf growled into his radio. "But if you could please set me back down on the train, I would be very obliged – "

"Sorry mate, we can't do that," Kobe said, spoiling Wolf's hopes. "We kinda need you to switch the tracks for us; the rest of the group we joined made an attempt to do it, and got caught."

"In a plan you devised," Wolf guessed.

"Right, how'd you guess?" Rico asked, curious.

I

Leon was poking his head out of the front engine's window, watching as the train barreled through a birnam wood forest. Suddenly, his thin, chameleon eyes widened as he noticed the disturbing lack of rails ahead of them. He rushed over to Cannonball Pete and shook him.

"The tracks ahead!" he shouted.

"What tracks ahead?" Pete snapped back. "There ain't any."

"I know! I was trying to warn you!" Leon frantically said. "Put on the brakes!"

"I DON'T BRAKE!" Pete shouted as he left the window and settled for the train's clouded windshield. He casually gripped a crude steering-wheel with his paws and blew another whiff of smoke out as he dusted his cigar. Leon grabbed onto a rail as he prepared for the oncoming doom of the Cannonball Express; there was nothing he could do, and nothing he could say; he could only watch as the train met its inevitable crash. With a large bump that was repeated with each car as it passed the drop off, the train left the smooth, guiding rails for the bumpy, uneven ground.

I

"Rico!" Wolf shouted. "Something went wrong; the train seems to have gone off course! Look, Jet's falling off the top – "

"I see 'im," Kobe said, swooping down to catch Jet amid the trees flashing by. "Wellll, it looks like you now have a friend to help you change the tracks up ahead. Alright, mates; wave goodbye to the Cannonball express. We're going on ahead of it to change the tracks before it arrives."

Wolf realized this may be the last time he saw the rest of his teammates; not because of their dangerous mission up ahead, but because of the ride there with Rico and Kobe.

I

The Cannonball express was now barreling at about 150 miles per hour down the steep slope of the forested hill, Cannonball Pete expertly guiding the train through a zigzag path between the birnam trees. Leon had a death-grip on a handy rail extending from the side of the engine. Though Pete was able to keep the engine from hitting any trees, he eventually side-swiped a few with the uncontrollable freight cars. He grinned at Leon.

"There won't be any park rangers this far into the wilderness; they'll never know."

As the end of the treeline approached, Leon thought he could make out a sea of shinning grey and white through the rapidly thinning branches.

"What's that up ahead?" he asked.

"Hecate lake," Cannonball Pete replied.

"A lake!?"

"Keep yer shirt on, lizard; it's iced over; completely solid."

"Oh, well, in that case. But you're still going over it!?"

"Precisely; those infernal monkeys wouldn't have thought we could get across it without the bridge over there, hm? So they didn't tear up the tracks on the over side. That's where we can hook back up with 'em."

"Oh my... you are one crazy bugger."

"You don't know crazy!"

The rapidly spinning wheels let out a high-pitched screech as they left the soft dirt of the wooded hill for the slick, frictionless surface of the frozen lake.

"Assault tanks on the lake surface!" Leon shouted to Pete.

"We'll take care of them, won't we, Miss Cannonball?" the engineer said as he patted the dashboard of the train. He flung the controls of the train hard right, at the same time, cutting the engine. The rear cars of the train swung forward, as the engine itself swung around backwards. The cars smashed into the tanks, devastating them and flinging them across the ice. The train itself was relatively unharmed, but there were more tanks firing at them farther across the lake. Pete flung the controls the other way, spinning the train wildly in the opposite direction. Again, the Cannonball Express bowled over the tanks, sending them sliding across the ice. The mad engineer managed to steer the train in the right direction, so that it pointed towards the oncoming shore again. With another large bump, it started up the sandy shore and onto the sparse but rolling plane on the other side. When Cannonball Pete spotted the tracks, he edged the train on over to them, and with an abrupt jerk, he brought the train up onto the tracks, finally connecting the two again.

"What did I tell you?" Pete said.

"I... I think I'm going to be sick," Leon said as he cautiously covered his mouth.

"Well don't throw up in 'ere! That's what we got windows for!" He slowed the train down to normal speed. "Well, now, lizard; all we 'ave to do is wait for the militia to re-align the tracks up ahead. Lizard? Lizard?" Pete looked over at Leon, who was leaning out the window. "Oh... never mind."

I

Wolf and Jet were hanging on for dear life to the Aussies' fighters as they flew towards the switch building. When they crested the next hill, they found the factory looming only a few miles away from it. Normally, there would have been large smoke pillars drifting into the sky from its large exhaust towers, but all production was at a halt because of the recent crisis. The factory was surrounded by several Androssian cruisers, among them, supply frigates and battleships. As they steadily got closer, Wolf could make out the building that controlled the tracks for the factory's train yard. He pointed to it, and Rico and Kobe piloted their fighters towards it.

"How are we gonna get in?" Wolf asked into his headset.

"We're gonna drop you in through the windows, mate."

"But there aren't any windows facing upward!" Jet said.

"Don't worry; the momentum from our fighters will carry you in through the side windows; all you 'ave ta do, is let go at the right moment. It'll be a piece o' Lamington cake."

"Wait, you mean, you're not even stopping?"

"Not even slowing down; that place is crawling with slinkies and scratchers after our first attempt. Oh yeah, the switch is labeled 1-H; you might need to know that, maybe. Oop; 'ere we are; cheers, mates." And with that, Rico and Kobe spun their ships, dropping Wolf and Jet into the air. The Aussies were right about one thing; their momentum did carry them through the glass windows. With a painful smash, they shattered the glass, sending showers of crystal shards in as they rolled to a stop on the inside. When they looked up, they realized Kobe and Rico were also right about another thing; it was crawling with soldiers. Wolf quickly rolled behind a cabinet, drawing his blaster, while Jet scooped up a mass of shards with his feathered wings, flinging them like waves of daggers at the guards. With the distraction he caused, he also scrambled behind a filing cabinet, and drew his own blaster.

"Cover me," Wolf mouthed to Jet. Jet nodded, took a deep breath, and stood up so he could see over the cabinet. As Jet released a deadly volley of lasers onto the soldiers, Wolf jumped over the cabinet, shot a soldier, ran half bent over to the group, grabbing his victim before he fell, and used his body as a shield to protect himself as he released a volley of his own. Their focus now on Wolf, Jet took the chance to move in, too; he jumped over his own cabinet towards the guards, and sliced his metal-tipped wings into the two nearest ones, then proceeded to shoot them both. Wolf flung the body onto the last soldier, then tackled him, and sliced his throat with the dagger attached to his blaster like a bayonet.

"The train's coming!" Jet shouted to Wolf as he noticed the dark form of the Cannonball Express barreling its way towards them. "We better find the switch, fast!"

_1-H, 1-H, 1-H, _Wolf kept repeating to himself as he and Jet frantically searched for the switch among the seemingly endless rows of identical switches. "Found it!" he called as he finally pushed the life-saving lever. They walked back over to the busted windows, watching as the train sped by them. Just as the engine reached them, time seemed to slow to almost a fraction of its original speed; Wolf's jaw dropped as he saw the engine pass by, Leon leaning out the window, a small trail of vomit blowing from his mouth, and the craziest looking dog he had ever seen, waving at him with a mad grin on his face, smoke trailing from his cigar. Accompanying the spectacle was a maniacal, "WAAAAAAHHOOOOOOooooo_ooooo!_" that Wolf guessed was coming from the mad engineer. When the engine passed, time sped up to normal again, and Wolf and Jet looked at each other for a second.

"Once this war is over, we are never working for Corneria _again_." Wolf shook his head at the train.

"Where do we go now?" Jet finally asked, after he and Wolf had watched it pass for a few more seconds.

"We'll board the train again."

"But it's moving at a hundred miles per hour!"

"I am in no mood to argue," Wolf growled. "I have lost all my patience, and am about to also loose my sanity; jump onto the train, or I will push you!" But before he could finish, Jet had hurriedly leapt off the building to the train.

I

**A/N: What happens if you type "do a barrel roll" into Google search? Try it.**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N Congratulations! You have managed to stagger through at least half of this Indian Gauntlet of a story! Now that I am approaching the end, I have decided to raise the rating from K+ to T, as there will be some violence, very infrequent language, and tragedy, hopefully all for a better story. It may get a little rough and confusing from now on, if I can pull it off.**

I

** Chapter 19: Lights Out**

I

"I thought you said it would only take a few minutes," Sergeant Usher said when the all of the Starwolf team had met back up in their squad's car. The soldiers were prepping for the oncoming battle that loomed less than a few minutes away; the Cannonball Express was passing through the factory's train yard, and only had a few hundred more feet to go to enter the special docking bay where they would unload, and inevitably have to fight their way down to the trapped workers. Hopefully, they would be met by the few militia troops left, and would be able to defend a safe passage for the workers to escape to the surface through. And from there, they had to retake the factory. Wolf simply growled in response to the sergeant's remark, who raised his paws in surrender. "Hey, no hard feelings, we're a team now; we fight together, run together, and die together."

Wolf shook the jaguar's hand for one last time, and the sergeant took the chance to whisper into Wolf's ear. "The boys are kinda expecting something from you."

"What?" Wolf whispered back in an equally quiet voice. The train had come screeching to a halt inside the station, and the signal was given for the troops to get off and defend the train while they had it unloaded; the Androssians would mount an attack at any minute.

"Just a few words of encouragement, you know, a speech."

"A speech!?" Wolf said with enough volume that most of the soldiers heard him.

"Go on, Wolf," Leon teased, pushing him forward. "Encourage the boys!"

Wolf gritted his canine teeth, shooting daggers at Leon from the corner of his eyes. Wolf never had to give a speech like this before, not even in front of his small team, but he was willing to give it a shot.

"Ahem, uh, know this, men; today may be the last time we see each other, but if so, it shall not be the last day we are remembered throughout all of the Lylat System; they may take your lives, but they can't take your honor, your pride, your legacy, or your... uh... screw it, WHAT ARE YOU ALL STARING AT ME FOR!" The soldiers started laughing. "STOP STANDING AROUND HERE LIKE A BUNCH OF STATUES AND GET OUT THERE! YOU BETTER NOT MAKE ME GIVE YOU ALL A SPEECH, YOU HEAR ME! GET YOUR TALES OUTTA HERE! MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" The soldiers continued to laugh as they scrambled out of the car, dismounting from the side door.

"Not what I was looking for," the jaguar sergeant commented as he passed them on his way out. "But they seemed to take it well." Wolf gave Leon a hard shove as he angrily jumped out of the train car, glad he would soon have something he could kill to take his anger out on. The factory station's ceiling was about a hundred feet high, leaving enough room for several cranes to maneuver comfortably around, specifically for loading the trains. It was dimly lit by the natural white light from the Macbethan snow outside, but other than that, it was very dark. The station held about ten trains at the moment, and they would make good cover to protect the train with, if they could reach the surrounding ones before the Androssians could. The Cannonball Express sprung to life as animals dropped form its sides, the soldiers rushing to secure the nearby cars or protect the engineers while they unloaded the small sized tanks and supply carts the train had brought. The noise of their activity occasionally echoed throughout the station; they had lost all hope of secrecy long ago.

Wolf gestured for Leon, Panther, and Jet to follow him to a nearby train resting parallel to theirs where half of the soldiers were taking up positions, too. Wolf extended his metallic claws from his gloves, and used them to climb up one of the train cars. When he reached the top, he noticed the rest of his team had already climbed up and were waiting for him.

"You know there are ladders, right?" Panther asked. Wolf payed him no attention as he retracted his claws. The car they had climbed up was a mineral carrier, and was loaded to the top with rough lumps of coal. The rest of the team sat down to wait, while Panther drew his laser sniper and looked through its night vision scope, scanning their half of the empty station for any enemies. Suddenly, a bright form rose up directly in front of his scope, emitting a massive heat-signature and blocking his view. He pulled the scope away from his eye to find a sheepishly grinning monkey in front of him.

"Um, hi?" the Androssian whispered to Panther. Wolf was over in a second; he grabbed a hold of the enemy, shot him, and heaved him over the side of their car for the rest of their squad to see.

"They're here!" he warned in a loud voice. The soldiers sitting on top of the abandoned train turned on their flashlights, their white rays illuminating a horde of Androssians sneaking towards their train.

"Attack!" an Androssian captain ordered his men once he realized they'd been spotted; his troops ran forward to the cover of the nearby train the Cornerians were occupying, while others activated grenades and tossed them up. The Cornerians opened fire on the stalkers, lighting the station with blue and green lasers. Jet saw a green blur as a blinking, activated grenade was tossed up at them. He swatted it back where it came from, satisfied when he heard the cries of the unsuspecting enemies as it went off in a blinding flash of orange. Wolf quickly scanned the train they had turned into a wall; lasers were streaking back and forth between the train and the ground, mixed in with the occasional grenade. In the dim glow cast by the numerous weapons and flashlights, he was barely able to make out the dark forms of Androssians scaling up the side of the cars to attack the Cornerians on top. _Oh crud,_ he though when he realized they were doing the same to their own personal car. An ape soldier appeared over the side of the train, taking one final leap up the side to attack them. He swung his bayoneted rifle at Wolf, who caught the blade with his metal claws, blocking the following laser with his red deflector. He yanked the gun away, only to have Jet shoot the ape in the stomach.

"You idiot! That one was mine!" Wolf barked at Jet in annoyance.

"I didn't want to take the chance... sorry."

Wolf considered for a moment; he didn't want to hurt Jet, so he said, "Sorry, I should appreciate it." He turned around to find another enemy had scaled the wall and was aiming at him. He ducked under the shot, grabbed the soldier, and threw him over the side behind him. Panther kicked another soldier back down to where he came from, firing a few shots with his normal blaster as he did so.

"Keep it up!" Wolf said. "Once they finish unloading the train we can pull back to the lift that leads underground." As the rest of his team kept the Androssians off the train, Leon took out two grenades, letting out an uncontrollable evil chuckle as he did so. He set them off, casually dropping them off the side of the train into a mob of enemies that had accumulated. After the subsequent explosion, he dusted his hands off.

"You probably know by now that I like blowing things up," he said to Jet.

"And Wolf let _you_ handle the giant bomb back on Titania?" Jet asked back.

"It wasn't a real bomb."

"But you thought it was."

"True... Wolf, why did you give me the bomb?"

"Because I knew you wouldn't be afraid to use it," he answered. Suddenly, a sharp, metallic screech echoed through the station, loud enough to be heard above the noises and shouts of battle. Panther took out his sniper again, shinning its flashlight where he assumed the noise had come from.

"Did that come from a crane?" Jet asked. Panther's beam soon fell on the base of a crane, which he followed up to the top, then across the arm, then down the doubly reinforced chain which seemed to be dropping lower and lower, then to the metal claw at the bottom, followed by a bunch of empty space, and then onto the train car adjacent to theirs.

"Uh-oh," he said. Wolf put it together, too.

"They're trying to lift the train up!" he shouted. "Leon; when the claw grabs onto that car, climb up it and over to the engineer's box."

"Why me?" Leon complained.

"Because you get to blow it when you get there."

"Oh. In that case, I would be insulted if you gave the job to anyone else." He scampered over to the crane's metal claw that had latched onto the car, and began climbing up it with some minor difficulty. He had to swing around quickly to dodge a stray laser that passed close by him. Once he reached the top, he pressed himself low against the crane's arm, and began sliding towards the engineer's compartment at the opposite side. But before he could even get halfway across, one of Panther's lasers flew through the air, striking the engineer in the head; he collapsed momentarily. Leon sat up, spread his arms in a questioning gesture, and shouted angrily, "What the heck, Panther! Why didn't you just shoot him in the first place instead of making me climb AAAALL the way up here before you did!?" Panther only shrugged, absently cleaning his rifle. Leon swore under his breath as he turned around to climb back down, but he noticed another engineer take the dead one's place and continue to lift the car. Leon smiled, and renewed his dangerous path to the engineer's box. He quickly looked down to see Panther loading another charge into his sniper rifle and aiming it at the new engineer. "NO!" Leon shouted. "Not again Panther!" Panther relented and set his rifle down, giving Leon the much needed chance to blow something up. When he finally made it to the engineer's box, he smiled at the unfortunate Androssian operating inside of it, who gave him a confused look. Then Leon put the plastic explosives against the window, setting the timer to thirty seconds, and waved to the engineer as he turned to run back across the arm. When he had slid down to the car at the bottom of the chain and claw, a deafening explosion shook the entire station, and the crane collapsed, dropping the train it was attempting to lift back onto its tracks.

"WOLF!" Sergeant Usher shouted to them. They turned to find him leading the soldiers into the nearby tunnel that lead to the mine lift. Wolf gestured for his team to drop down the train's side and join them. Panther, the last one to leave the train, gave one last glance across the edge of the train; the Cornerian soldiers had abandoned it, returning fire to the Androssians as they took up positions on top. The Starwolf team sprinted to join the main group of soldiers and engineers, and quickly made their way to the front. The tunnel was long, and pitch black except for a few dim lights hanging from the ceiling. Several steal cart tracks were set into the ground, stretching from one end of the tunnel to the other. Their force was made up of 120 soldiers and engineers combined, large enough to fill the tunnel if they spread out. At the far end was a barricade made up of sand-bags, hiding behind which was a troop of enemies that occasionally peeked out to fire at them. The Starwolf team and the soldiers up front pressed themselves against the side of the tunnel, panting.

Leon pressed a bomb into Jet's wings, saying, "Why don't _you_ have a bit of fun, Jet? It's not fair for me to hog all the toys." Jet grinned, nervously, but he still excepted the bomb, and crawled his way over to the barricade. When he was close enough, he activated the bomb and hurled it at the sandbags, then he got up and ran as fast as he could in the opposite direction. He saw the soldiers' faces light up from the explosion as he ran towards them, and they cheered him on.

Wolf had his team wait as the vanguard took the lead, bursting through the flaming refuse to gun down any enemies present. Then they followed them into the mine's lift room. It was two floors high, a balcony running around the side of the second level. The room was square in shape, with a large lift platform in the center that was the key to reaching the lower levels of the mine. The lift was raised and lowered by two sets of controls; one located on the lift platform itself, the other set located in a compartment on the opposite side of the room. The vanguards had cleared the first floor of all enemy soldiers, but there were still a lot stationed on every side of the second floor's balcony, who were easily picking the Cornerians off, one by one.

"42nd Squad!" shouted Sergeant Usher as he pointed to the overhead balcony. "Take out those snipers!"

Not even stopping to salute, the elite squad lobbed several grenades onto one side of the balcony, clearing it. Four of the squad swung grappling hooks up onto the railing, quickly climbing up to the balcony and taking the dead sniper's places. From their new vantage point, they opened fire on the rest of the snipers on the other three sides of the balcony, quickly decimating them. "All clear!" one of the squad called down.

The engineers brought the tanks and supply carts into the room, pushing them onto the mine's lift. One of the squad, a large, Great Dane, carried a bazooka past Leon, who's eyes immediately lit up. Stepping over to the soldier as he loaded his weapon, he commented, "That's a... nasty looking rocket launcher you got there."

"Yup," was all the soldier gave back as he trained he trained it on the lift control room across the loading bay.

"Mind if I took the shot?" Leon said as he rubbed his hands together. The Great Dane looked at him for a second, then gave him a disappointing answer.

"Sorry; orders." And with that, he fired a deadly rocket across the room, exploding the control box for the lift on the other side so the Androssians couldn't use it.

"Sir!" an engineer called from the last control box located on the lift. "What level?"

Sergeant Usher listened to his wrist communicator for a second, than called back, "Level two! The militia just reached the lift shaft and is doing their best to hold it!" The rest of the soldiers and Starwolf jumped down onto the large lift as it lowered them deeper and deeper into the mine.

"Take a last look at the sunlight, Wolf," Usher whispered. "It may be the last time we ever see it." Wolf gazed up at the thin, grey rays of sunlight that trickled through a ventilation grate in the ceiling of the lift room above them. They were getting further away with every second. Wolf looked down at the floor, tearing his gaze away from the last line of hope they had, resolving never to look back up until the time came for their escape. Jet kept his eyes trained on the last rays of light until the very end, when the automated gates closed over the lift shaft like a book being shut.

There were a few more moments of relative quiet, then a deep rumble slightly shook the lift; they were nearing the battle below. Wolf tensed as they passed the gates of the first underground level, the one level the Androssians still had full possession of, but there was no attack; the gates of that level remained ominously closed. Another explosion shook the lift, this one much louder and nearer. As the gates for the second level rose above the edge of the lift platform, the relief force readied their weapons, the engineers powering up their tanks. When the lift came to a jerking halt, the gates on all four sides hissed open, and the noises of chaotic battle broke the silence.

"GO, GO, GO!" Usher shouted to the troops even before the gates were fully open. The ten squads jumped out of the lift, running for what little cover the mines offered. The militia already there welcomed them with slaps on the back and guided them to the fighting. Wolf found cover behind an electrical box where he could take a full inventory of the situation, his pulse racing from the confused battle taking place around him. Behind him, the engineers from their group were taking the supply carts down a tunnel that he assumed led to the workers and their families, while other engineers primed the tanks and were leading them into battle. The level they were in now was a rough cave industrialized into a mine. Stalactites still hung from the ceiling, though it was clear several had already fallen from the ongoing skirmish. A large crevice in the mine's floor separated the level they were now on into two equal halves; the Androssians barely keeping a foothold on the Lylatan's side. Two steal bridges had been constructed to cross the gap, and a temporary cable railing stretched along both sides of the crevice to keep workers from falling in.

"PUSH 'EM BACK TO THE OTHER SIDE!" a frantic, new voice called out. "THEN WE CAN CUT THE BRIDGE FOR A LITTLE PEACE AND QUIET!" Sergeant Usher assumed it was the commanding officer ordering the troops around, trying to find him as he sent his squad towards the crevice as well.

Panther joined Wolf by the electrical box, peering through his sniper's scope to pick off several enemy soldiers. He looked to his left to see Leon joining him, cackling as he lit a few heat grenades and rolled them down the slight incline. Finally, Wolf noticed Jet standing on top of a tank, guarding the engineer on top with his energy deflector. He tapped both Leon and Panther on the shoulders, gesturing for them to follow as he jumped over the electrical box and into the melee. As his teammates covered him, he raced down the incline to an Androssian lizard, stabbing him with his metal claw, and heaving him over into the deep, shadowy ravine. As two monkeys ran at him from opposite sides, Wolf was forced to choose between them; he spun to the one on his left, but Panther shot it down with his rifle. No time to lose, he spun around to the one behind him, only to have it shot by Leon. His two teammates congratulated each other for saving Wolf, but their celebration was too soon. A hulking ape made a dive for Wolf, grabbing onto him. The two drunkenly stumbled towards the edge, tripping over the chain fence and falling in, but not before Wolf could grab onto the chain they had broken. A cluster of soldiers was upon him. A bearded dragon opened fire at Wolf with a machine gun, making his situation all the more difficult. He was forced to swing from side to side to avoid being hit, but he grunted as one laser struck his right shoulder. With one final effort, he swung up, curving in mid-air to kick the lizard's machine gun out of his hands and into Wolf's own, then landed amid the soldiers, gunning them down with the help of Panther and Leon.

When they were finished, they turned to see Jet and the tank he was balancing atop of a few yards behind them. Jet gave a mocking salute as the tank fired upon the last remaining bridge, its destruction cutting off the two sides of their level completely. The soldiers cheered as the last of the Androssian forces present retreated into the dark reaches of the mine on the opposite side. The Lylatans turned away from the crevice, leaving a few sentries present, and started a long but calm walk to the group of workers farther down the passage way. Sergeant Usher was conversing with an Iceland Gull by the lift, and Wolf walked over to hear.

"Soldier," the jaguar said. "Where did Captain Snow get off to? He seems to have disappeared after this little battle; I was supposed to meet with."

"Captain Snow wasn't in this battle," replied the gull. "He is recovering from injuries from a recent skirmish, a bit headstrong, he was."

"Then who was the one ordering these idiots around?"

"Oh, uh, _I_ was, sir."

"Well, then, nice work, man! You did a good job taking over for him, I'm guessing in the spur of the moment, too. You're a natural leader! I've never seen anything like it, actually. I'll put in a good word for you, uh... sergeant?" The gull shook his head. "I'm sorry," continued Usher. "I'm not that familiar with Free Trade Federation outfit. What rank are you?"

"I'm actually a chaplain," replied the gull, smiling. "Name's Ash."

"A chaplain? That's even more surprising. You should give it up and become an officer, I would love to see your career."

"I appreciate your praise, but the military needs more chaplains."

"We need more officers!" laughed Usher. "But no matter, its your choice. Now, take me to Captain Snow." Finally noticing Wolf's team, he gestured for them to follow as Chaplain Ash lead the way deeper into the mine.

The tunnel eventually opened up to a large cavern that extended into the distance, artificial columns reaching up to brace the ceiling to prevent a sudden collapse. Now the only use of the mining equipment was for seats and footstools; they were starting to fall into disrepair from lack of use and care. Groups of soldiers, workmen, and their families sat around fires fueled by the vary coal they refused to mine for Andross' mad cause. Normally, the miners wore gas masks to protect themselves from dust and silt that could clog up their lungs, but they gave the masks to their families to protect them instead. Jet got chills staring at the unnerving masks, especially the ones worn by the young children. Some of the soldiers had set up tables where they were heating up and distributing food to the hungry workmen. Ash led them over to what appeared to be a makeshift med-bay, where several wounded soldiers and engineers were being treated on stretchers. They stopped at a cot occupied by a wounded, grey owl, who sat up in spite of the pain to meet them. A medic and a workman's wife were treating him.

"Greetings, Sergeant Usher and Starwolf," he was racked by a fit of coughs after taking off his surgical mask. "I'm sorry we had to meet this way, instead of on the field of battle... but I assure you, I will be fixed up within the hour, and ready to take command again. There isn't a wound in the world I would refuse to take as long as I could keep fighting. Except maybe, _that_," he said as he watched the nurse fill a shot with penicillin, smiling when she heard his remark. "But I guess I need it, thanks to the condition of this mine."

"Excuse me, but are you in anyway related to _General _Snow?" Leon asked.

"Quite right, I am, in fact, his nephew. I am working as an officer for the FTF as a sort of military exchange. By the way, do you know Snow's whereabouts?"

"Last I heard," replied Usher, "He was engaging some Androssians over Fortuna. He's quite alright, I assure you."

Captain Snow breathed a sigh of relief. "Glad to hear that, I basically lost contact with the outside world in this hell-hole. Ahem, but, you didn't come here to listen to my complaints; we have to discuss a way out."

"Yes, it is looking pretty grim," Wolf said. "We can't use the lift, as they would just swarm us when we came out, and we still have a whole level and a half of baddies to fight through before we reach the surface. We... failed... to secure a passage. I'm hoping you have a plan?"

The grey owl chuckled a bit. "If you could call a full frontal assault one, then, yes, I do have a plan. It will take a lot of guts, which we have, and luck, which, so far, we do not have. But I am confident we can do it. I know your aren't specifically cut for a full out battle, being a special, operational team, but I am still asking you to help us."

Wolf gritted his teeth for a second, looking at his teammates for advice.

"Come on, Wolf!" Leon cheered him. "Think of all the fun a full out battle would be; we don't have to remain secretive, we can kill as many enemies as we want, and no special objectives we have to worry about!" Wolf grinned at Leon's obvious blood lust.

"Of course, if we want to make it out alive, we'll have to fight regardless; it's the only way." Wolf's grin vanished as he listened to Panther's logic. "And we might as well; how much worse can it possibly get?"

As if he had somehow caused it, the last remaining lamps alight in the already dark cavern blinked out, plunging the whole room into an inky darkness dimly lit by the coal fires the workmen had set up. The Androssians had cut the power. Immediately, wails of infants and cries of despair echoed throughout the cave.

A new realization struck Jet as he stared at the workers and their families huddled around their makeshift fires. "Think of all the people we'd be saving by fighting for them; these are families we'd be helping, families with kids..."

Wolf growled. "Don't try to guilt trip me, son."

"Then we aren't gonna help?"

"Did I say we weren't? Of course we are!"

"It's settled, then," Usher said. "We have to wait awhile before we mount an attack; the forces down here are starved, and could use some more medical attention. Try to keep yourselves occupied, and no funny business." He glared at Panther, who immediately crossed his heart. "Men, I will see you all at the front tunnel in two hours. Dismissed!"

I

The mining cavern was silent except for the occasional crackle of a fire, the forlorn wail of a child, or soft murmurs and chuckles of conversation. Wolf paced through the facility, restless in sight of the oncoming skirmish. Assassinate a chancellor, sure. Blow up a research facility, no problem. Guard a supply train, take him to it. But fight a war in the way most soldiers did? They weren't that type of mercenary. It may be fun, it may be their only choice, and he did have a heart... somewhere... as much as he hated to admit it. He decided not to think about it. He passed Leon and two miners, playing with each other's toys.

"Sure like to get my hands on one of these; all I've seen are second-hand blasters." The miner was getting the feel of Leon's gun, gazing through the small scope on top.

"Customized it myself; you won't find another one like it, even if you go to the black market." Leon added in a whisper, "Which, coincidentally, is where I picked it up." He was sitting in the controls of a mining machine, eying it. "What do you call this bad girl?" he asked.

The other worker leaned up against the side of the vehicle. "It has some boring technical name and all, but we just call it a granite grinder."

"Granite grinder, eh?" Leon mumbled as he admired it; the compartment he was sitting in was set atop two sets of treads that were separated by twin buzz saws meant to clear the rubble on the sides of the machine. Protruding from the front was a large, spiral drill for cutting through the hardest of materials. He was grinning wildly, and Wolf knew he was probably thinking of an unusual and violent use for the tool. "Tell you what," he said, tossing the other workmen his remaining blaster. "if you lend this machine to me, I'll lend you my two blasters for the battle, deal?"

The worker eyed the blaster for a second, then reached into a compartment, pulling out and tossing the keys to Leon. "Deal."

Wolf shivered as he walked away from the scene, hoping he was nowhere near Leon when the battle started. He moved on to see Panther and Jet telling stories of their past escapades to a group of grinning soldiers and awed children. He could hear them both impersonating Rico and Kobe as they retold what happened on Titania, making the soldiers laugh and Wolf grin at their antics. He was glad the Aussies had disappeared so they wouldn't mess up _this_ battle.

"Ah, Wolf! I'm glad to see you again." He turned to see Dr. Blechette, the scientist from his last mission, approaching him. "I need to ask a little favor of you," he said.

"Shoot." Wolf walked over to an upside-down bucket, sitting on top of it while Blechette sat down on the edge of a transport tram.

"Actually, maybe I should start from the beginning. Do you know Beltino Toad?"

"I know he's worked with Starfox before, and they had a gate named after him. Why?"

"Corneria has seen fit to establish an information link between Beltino and me. I reported the cloning project to him, and how I was forced to turn the research over to the AWG. It seems, while infiltrating one of their facilities, Fox McCloud had a little run-in with a clone assassin."

Wolf grinned. "How'd it go for him?"

"Not too well; he fell off a building and nearly died. Any... personal reasons for asking?"

"Sort-off; our teams are rivals." Wolf got a little sense of pride from the fact that Fox didn't do so well with the clone he faced, will Wolf took his down pretty easily. "So Andross has utilized the cloning research?"

Blechette shook his head. "That's the thing, Beltino learned the clone was manufactured by the AWG. But we don't know, however, what they plan to accomplish with this research; will they only manufacture a few clones as special operatives to combat your two teams, or will they create their own army? And what side will they take?"

Wolf scratched his ear. "Wait, are the AWG and the Cornerian conspirators working for Andross or themselves? What the heck are they even doing?"

"For now, it appears that they are backing Andross... I just can't figure out why; he is a madman, after all. As for what they are doing to aide him, it seems they are trying to forcefully elect their own puppet officials, as well as pulling some strings to secretly give him the materials he needs. But back to the favor. Beltino has uncovered a bit about Andross' Project Anomaly; it seems he has created his own warp dimension, which he uses an impenetrable base. We can't defeat him if we can't even get to him. But even Andross needs a way in and out to get supplies; that's why he took over so many factories on Macbeth." Blechette pulled out a small device from his lab coat with a collapsed antenna on one side of it. "This is where you come in. Do you know what this is?" He passed the device over to Wolf.

"A tracking device," he answered immediately.

"Right; Beltino needs this planted on a supply frigate going to the Anomaly. Can you do that?" He waited for Wolf to consider for a moment.

"I have an idea, but I'll have to cook it up with Leon. Don't worry; we'll come through."

"Splendid!" The tree frog scientist remarked. "Better get started on your little scheme, then, before the battle starts."

I

An hour later, a messenger on a mobile tram went around the cavern, calling the soldiers and engineers to the front tunnel, where Captain Snow, now fit for a bit of action, delivered a rousing speech. But Wolf wasn't listening entirely. His pulse was racing too hard; his feral instincts were taking over, jumbling up the Captain's words so that all he got was the spirit from his speech, something mere words couldn't convey. Then, before he knew it, he was leading the way into battle, followed by the trampling of soldiers and the rumble of tanks. As they neared the end of the tunnel, they slowed down, aggravating Wolf. Panther and the other snipers went on ahead to eliminate the Androssian scouts on the opposite side of the ravine before they made their crossing; they wanted as much surprise as possible. When they returned from their job, the rest of the soldiers entered the first room with the lift and crevice, now completely empty in contrast to their first skirmish. A brigade of workers rushed over to the ravine, laying down steal beams across the yawning chasm so the soldiers and tanks could safely cross.

"They've heard us coming!" a scout whispered with a hiss after he joined the main group again.

"Great," Wolf muttered, but not sarcastically; he actually meant it; the sooner the battle started, the better. All they had to do was break their way through to the surface, where he knew the sun would be shinning; both his yearning for the outside world and his addiction to action drove him on now. The 42nd squad, along with the Starwolf team, both being elite units, were at the head of the offense, leading the charge through the passageways on the other side of the ravine.

Captain Snow, still wrapped in several bandages, had the order passed around for silence; they were approaching their enemies' position now. They had quietly entered a long tunnel that was roughly the size of the cavern they had stayed in, only this one was thinner and much, much lengthier.

Next to the right wall of the passage was a transport tram set on a track that traversed the length of the room. It might come in handy later. Wolf grabbed his pair of x-ray vision goggles from his belt, merely holding them up to his face instead of putting them on. He could make out the forms of lurking enemies behind the steal crates up ahead. He motioned for Panther and Jet to follow him to a line of crates that had been set up; the enemy was right behind it. Leon was nowhere to be seen, but Wolf assumed he was with the rest of the tanks waiting in back for secrecy. As they three mercenaries knelt down beside the line of crates, the rest of the 42nd squad followed their lead.

Silence. An unbearable silence.

Wolf's heart was really beating now. He glanced to his left, meeting Jet's gaze, then to his right, and Panther nodded to him. Wolf nodded back. For the second time that day, time seemed to slow. With one leap, Wolf swung up onto the crate, swinging his legs over across the steal surface, though several inches above it. Time did not return to normal. He finally touched down on the other side, steal-toed boots creating sparks against the rough, gravely floor. Time still refused to speed up. He slid a few feet into the midst of the Androssian soldiers, swinging his sharp, metal claws at the enemies on either side of him, using the momentum of his first leap. Only when his claws tipped the Androssians military jackets did time return to normal; it hit him like a powerful wave. He tore through their clothes and into their chests, wounding them. And then, only then, did time speed up and throw him into a chaotic battle: Roars and shouts echoed throughout the passageway, his own voice mixing in with the rest. Explosions shook the ground, laser fire streaked through the air, and the battle began.

Wolf kicked both soldiers over, drawing his blaster. Panther and Jet quickly followed behind him in the same manner; Jet slicing into a group of soldiers with his metallic feathers, while Panther used a machete for his first blow. Jet had never seen anyone with the same fighting style as Jet before, except, maybe, Falco Lombardi. He swung his wings around in a deadly dance, absolutely ripping enemies to shreds like a violent hurricane. Occasionally, he would fling some of his metal feathers at nonadjacent soldiers, striking them as if they were throwing knives. Close quarter combat was not Panther's greatest skill, but he still greatly excelled at it. He wielded his hunter's machete like a swordsmen, hacking at Androssians while at the same time knocking their guns away. They were immediately followed by the 42nd squad, guns ablaze. When they had eliminated the soldiers in their immediate area, they continued on, confident that the brigade was right behind them. As a gecko charged Wolf with a wicked knife, the vulpine simply ducked, causing the lizard to trip over him in what became a well-performed judo move. Wolf next leapt off another crate, performing a roundhouse kick to an unsuspecting chimp, knocking him unconscious. When they fought their way to a boarding platform for the tram, Panther climbed up it, then onto the roof of the tram itself. Using the roof as a vantage point, he knelt down, scouting out the leaders and picking them off one by one. Jet however, stayed by Wolf, fighting alongside of him. They weren't in the lead for long, however, as they were joined by Sergeant Usher and his squad, Captain Snow not far behind with two bodyguards, urging the army forward.

By the time they had pushed the Androssians all the way to the other side of the passage where a large set of stairs and a lift lead to the first level, they had significantly regrouped, holding their ground against the Lylatans. Suddenly, from the ceiling, five berserker apes dropped down, evenly spread out across the passageway, armed with machine guns and blades; they quickly began cutting down the Lylatan soldiers.

"Marksmen!" Panther heard a voice calling; it was Chaplain Ash at the controls of the tram. "Kill the berserkers! They're tearing us to shreds!"

"I'm not close enough!" he answered.

Ash only smiled as he worked the controls. "I know you can hit a moving target..." he pressed a button and set the supply tram in motion down the passageway. "...But can _you_ move and hit a target?"

Panther realized what the Iceland Gull had in mind; he would have to shoot fast if he was going to take them all down. The tram now in motion, he quickly jammed a new cartridge into his rifle, peering through the scope at the juggernaut apes.

"One," Panther said to himself as he hit the first ape in the chest.

"Two," the second ape went down from a head shot. The tram was now going full speed.

"Three," his pulse was racing and his paws were sweaty.

"Four," the fourth ape fell over, vainly clutching his neck. As he set his scope on the last ape, he realized two things at roughly the same time. The last berserker ape was bearing down on Captain Snow, who's two bodyguards wouldn't be able to keep him safe. The next thing he realized was that the Androssians had spotted him, and had hurled a grenade onto the train. "Five, pleeeeeeeeease!" he said as he leapt off the train, partly thrown by the explosion of the grenade. Still in mid-air, he kept his scope on the berserker as it prepared to strike down Snow. He pulled the trigger, luckily landing a head-shot on the ape, barely saving the captain from a messy end. "Five," he sighed right before he impacted the ground, sliding several feet into a pile of sandbags. Aching from the fall, he slowly stood up, rubbing his shoulder. "Ok, did anyone see that? _Anyone?_ No one!? Guess I see no point in doing that again."

It didn't take the Lylatans long to push the enemies all the way back up the stairs, securing their immediate area and the lift which they used to carry the tanks up with. However, they were struggling to push the Androssians back any further, or even to keep their foothold on the first level.

"Darn it, Wolf!" Sergeant Usher said. "There's got to be a way to break through them! The last step to the surface is at the end of this level, but there are swarms of 'em in the way!"

Wolf turned around as the noise of the lift screeched above the noise of battle. He squinted hard at the form rising up. _That's no tank..._ It wasn't; it was the wicked outline of the granite grinder. _So Leon finally decided to show!_

"Outta my way, ya ijits!" his chameleon teammate shouted. "This is gonna get reeeeal messy!" He quickly turned the drill on, then off, so that it spun around once, letting them know he meant business. The Lylatans between him and the enemy quickly scrambled out of the way as Leon drove the grinder onwards. Wolf gestured at Panther and Jet to board the mining machine; Panther nimbly climbed aboard the top, mumbling something in Spanish as he reloaded his rifle, while Wolf and Jet took up positions on opposite sides of the Leon.

"About time you showed up, Leon," Wolf growled.

"Oh, I always show up in the nick of time," he answered as he revved the engine, starting up the twin buzz saws and drill as he drove it onward. The grinder easily tore through any obstructions the Androssians had used to block their path; gravel bags, steal crates, battered machinery, and yes, even soldiers. Just looking at the wicked mining machine was enough to send the Androssians running, and those who weren't smart enough to run were quickly killed by the machine. Leon cut a large swath through the enemy that allowed the rest of the Lylatan army to advance forward effortlessly; by now, he had cut his way through half of the level. It went without a hitch...

Until they fired a rocket at Leon. It struck just to the left of the drill, causing the mining vehicle to flip up onto its rear treads like a motorcycle performing a wheelie. As Wolf flailed to keep his balance, Leon reached out and grabbed onto his jacket, preventing him from falling into he dangerous, spinning blades bellow him, while at the same time, struggling to get the vehicle back on all four treads. Panther was able to keep his balance, climbing up onto the now horizontal front windshield and shooting the bazooka carrying Androssian. Jet, however, was not so lucky. He fell off his side, landing on the rough ground which dazed him. As he shook his head to gather his wits, he saw the Androssians venture forward, trying to push the vehicle over onto its back. He rolled forward, underneath the spinning blade on the right side of the vehicle, quickly coming to his feet. He flung a volley of feathers at the soldiers, then threw himself at them, cutting into them with his wings. He sliced into two of their necks before they started resisting; one Androssian pulled out a blaster, but Jet slapped it away right as the shot was fired. He dealt a hard upper-cut to the monkey, sending him falling over, backwards. Another lizard got the drop on him, but he activated his energy deflector in time to bounce the lasers right back at him. As the soldiers began to recover, Jet noticed Leon's mining vehicle start to tip back towards them. He dove out of the way just as it fell forwards, crushing the remaining soldiers.

After their lucky recovery, Leon drove the machine even harder, drilling their way through with a new zeal. After a few minutes of blasting any enemies who dared to come near them, Wolf looked up; they had come to the foot of stairs that lead up to the surface level. _We're almost there! _he joyfully thought. He could even see the glow of the last lights of day casting onto the stairwell. He leapt off the vehicle, followed by Panther and a reluctant Leon; there was no way they were going to drive up the steps. Jet soon joined them from the battle behind, breathing heavily from exertion. Then they were joined by the whole forces of the Cornerian and FTF armies, Captain Snow urging them on.

"FORWARD, MEN! Can you see it? THE LIGHT OF DAY! DON'T LET THEM TAKE IT AWAY FROM YOU! FIIIGHT! FOR THE SURFACE!" They were now fighting their way up the stairwell, the Androssians at the top silhouetted by the golden rays of the sun pouring through the windows up above. And then they made it. It felt like coming up for air after a long time underwater, like seeing the first light of dawn after a terrible night, or getting a breathe of fresh air after working in a polluted city. The Androssians were clearly losing now. The Lylatans stormed through the entire factory, chasing out the Androssians, cutting them down as they ran.

I

Before he knew it, Wolf, his team, and the rest of the soldiers were standing outside the factory, cheering as they watched the Androssians retreat across the snowy field to their space cruisers, quickly boarding them in a frenzy. Wolf tripped a monkey as he raced past them, and he fell to the ground. As he and Leon bent down to the whimpering soldier, Panther made a move for his own gun, but Wolf stopped him.

"Wait, we need him alive." They stripped off the monkey's jacket, Leon wrapping a vest around the monkey instead. Attached to the vest were several explosives and a radio. "Do you know what this is?" Wolf asked. The soldier shook his head.

"This is a vest implanted with bombs," Leon informed him. "If you take it off, boom, you're dead... unless we turn it off for you."

The soldier guessed what they were up to. "What do you want me to do?"

Wolf smiled, handing the monkey the tracker Blechette had given him. "Place this on the side of one of the cruisers, and _then _we will turn it off. But you can't really be sure we have turned it off, can you?"

The soldier gulped. "Ok... I'll do it." Leon pulled him up and gave him a hard shove towards the Androssian cruisers. They waited until they got the radio signal that the tracker had been placed. Leon turned to Wolf, finger poised over a red button on the remote.

"Now can I blow him up?"

"Nah, let's make good with a promise... for once. Besides, for the rest of his life, he'll be living in constant fear of the bomb going off."

Leon grudgingly deactivated the bomb, as promised.

Jet smiled. "Yah, he probably won't even take it off for a shower... not that they even shower, anyways." The team shared a laugh.

I

An hour later, Wolf and Blechette were conversing as they watched the triumphant soldiers and workmen celebrate. They had lifted the rest of his teammates, along with Captain Snow, Sergeant Usher, and Chaplain Ash into the air. Leon was wearing a circlet of woven wild-flowers a group of children had made for him, joyfully swinging his fists in the air; the blooms were in stark contrast to his blood covered mercenary outfit. Wolf never really understood Leon. At times, he was a bloodthirsty, ruthless assassin and saboteur, while at other times, he was a peace loving, flower-picking softy.

Blechette spoke to Wolf. "I've sent the link to the tracking device to Beltino," he said. "Then, maybe we can finally see where he's hiding, and how to get to him." Wolf just nodded. "The end of the war is approaching faster than you can think, Wolf. Soon, we will be able to mount an offensive and strike back, executing the mad monkey."

"That will be he day..." Wolf replied. He gazed out over the snowy fields of Macbeth, watching the celebration, but mostly the golden rays of the afternoon sun he had missed so much. _Maybe we can __win this war..._

I

**A/N Holy crud, that was long... at least compared to the other chapters. After reading some more fanfiction off this site, I realized the chapters could stand to be a lot longer, so that's what I'll do for the rest of the story.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20: Party Crashers**

I

"Message received from Dr. Stillo Blechette," ROB droned in his monotone voice.

"Good," Beltino said. "There should be a signal code provided in the message; patch that into the satellite system, and open a map of the Lylat System for us."

"Affirmative," ROB answered as he ran through several operations on the main monitor.

Fox looked around the bridge of the Great Fox. They seemed to be running out of seats; with the additions of Amanda, Winston, Beltino Toad, and now Katt Monroe, the bridge was now three seats short. Falco was leaning against one side of the door frame, while Winston leaned against the other, cleaning out a glass. Slippy was nervously pacing back and forth while Amanda slowly spun herself around in her chair. Katt had hopped up onto a counter monitor, refusing to take a normal seat, and was filing her claws, occasionally raising her paw up to her eyes to check her handy work. Beltino was sitting on the chair closest to the monitor, watching as ROB prepared the map to follow the tracking device Wolf had planted onto the Androssian Cruiser. Krystal was seated next to Fox, who had his boots propped up on the large desk in front of them. They all leaned forward when a large hologram of the Lylat System opened up, zooming in on Macbeth where a red reticule indicated the location of the cruiser. All eyes were on the indicator as it slowly flew into orbit, then vanished.

"Don't worry, it's just making a jump somewhere," Beltino assured them. The reticule occasionally blinked back on a few times; it was clear it was travelling to Sector Z. "Sector Z..." Beltino mumbled as he began researching on his own monitor. Fox saw him go to the official Cornerian Military progress website, where he looked up the Sector. He turned his attention back to the hologram, where the cruiser had come out of hyperspace and was just drifting around for about a minute. "Well," Beltino continued, "As we wait for the cruiser's next move, here is the run-down on Sector Z; its airspace is being occupied by a large Androssian fleet, and it appears there is some form of base they are grouped around. It is the only Sector in their control; we have control of Sectors X and Y... thanks to your invaluable help, of course." Then the reticule started moving again, and he became silent. It drifted over a few inches on the map, and then disappeared again, though it would occasionally repair for in instant as it traced the cruiser's path. When it had stayed in hyperspace for a strangely long amount of time, Beltino realized what was going on. "It must have taken a warp gate! There's no way it could have traveled that far on its own." The reticule seemed to slow down as it approached Sector Y, blinking back into existence more rapidly, but it suddenly picked up again when it reached the center of the Sector. It only appeared three more times before it disappeared completely, but not before they saw it arrive at Sector X. They all stared at Beltino, expectantly.

"We were right!" he exclaimed.

"Uh, about what?" Falco asked as he walked over.

"It's just as that ancient relief depicted it! Andross used the combined power of the three warp gates, _and _the assistance of the three Sectors to warp to a new dimension! A dimension the Old Empire had first created, and Andross perfected!"

"So we know how to get to him now," Fox mused. "We have to use all three warps to arrive at his... Anomaly."

"Right," Amanda said. "But it looks like the Androssians have control over the last warp gate; the one in Sector Z."

"Then we'll just have to take it back," Fox concluded.

Something didn't seem right in Falco's mind. "Wait, how could Andross use the gates in Sectors X and Y if we have them under _our_ control?"

Beltino considered for a minute. "I'm guessing he has remote control of the gates, and is somehow able to override our commands whenever he needs to use them, but he would need an inter-dimensional wavelength to accomplish this, and that is where Andross shows some of his true genius." He turned to Fox. "You're right, we do need to take the warp gate at Sector Z, but we also have to come up with a way to jam his signal, which we may need to accomplish manually by hacking into the warp gates' infrastructure. I'll ask some specialists from Space Dynamics to get to work on the two bases we already have control of, then report back to me their findings."

"We should also send this information to High Command as soon as possible," Fox said.

"I will take care of both of those tasks, and report back to you momentarily."

I

Thirty minutes later, the team was located in the recreation room; Falco and Winston were shooting a game of pool off to the side, while Fox, Krystal, and Katt watched the news on the sofa. Slippy was fiddling with a mind puzzle where he had to draw lines from three boxes to each of the three circles opposite them. The catch; the lines couldn't cross. He loved those types of puzzles. The problem with this one, however, was that it had been deemed impossible. Amanda was in the bar, fixing a snack for the team.

"Hey, Winston, isn't this your job?" she asked.

Before he could answer, Falco replied. "What? You think I would have gotten him on the team just because I was lazy? I just like messin' with him." He glanced back down at the pool table to see Winston hit three of his own balls in the pockets with one shot. "Whoa, Winston, if you could fly as well as you can shoot pool, I would make you an honorary member of the Starfox team in no time."

"If you don't mind, I would much rather leave the flying to the birds," Winston chuckled, tugging his snout.

"And to the foxes," Krystal added, nudging Fox.

At that moment, Beltino entered the room. "Well, I have communicated with High Command, and they are very pleased with our findings." Katt shut off the TV as Winston placed his last ball into the corner pocket, winning the game.

"So... what's the plan?" Fox asked.

"Well, as of now, we have to make some move to counter those of Andross's. The Free Trade Federation has intercepted plans for invasions of both Aquas, and Andross's one-time home planet, Venom. We are being sent to defend Aquas, while Starwolf is being sent to protect Venom. Hopefully, Chancellor Dash Bowmen can hold his own out there. Once we take care of these two attacks, and General Snow finishes with the Androssians on Fortuna, _then_ we can finally mount an offensive. Our team, General Snow, and Starwolf will combine forces to take over Sector Z's warp gate. From there, General Grey, stationed at the warp in Sector X, and General Stealer, waiting at the Orbital Gate at Sector Y can follow us into Andross's Anomaly, where we can hopefully take him down. We are that far away from ending this war."

"Well, I'm glad to see we are actually making some progress on this," Falco said.

"Indeed, we are," Beltino agreed. "There have already been some reports of movement from Sector Z, where Andross's main fleet is holing up; the attacks on Aquas and Venom are coming quickly, so I have already asked ROB to set course for the ocean planet."

"Thanks, Beltino," Fox said. "You all heard him, the next battle is coming on pretty fast, so we better get ready for it. Everyone, break!"

I

Less than an hour later, Fox was standing in the bridge again, watching as they approached Aquas. Nearly the entire planet was covered in a massive, sapphire-blue ocean, that, at one point, actually had covered the whole face of the planet. In past years, the planet was a hot-bed for fishing, oceanic oil drilling, aquaculture, tourism, and, as some archeologists claimed, an ancient civilization now sunken below the waves. The planet prospered for years. That is, until a strange sea monster threw a temper tantrum. Named, 'Bacoon,' by Aquarian biologists, the monster used a sort of telepathy, or perhaps sonar, to control the minds of simple, aquatic life-forms. It sent masses of explosive sea-creatures to the polar icecaps at the northern-most point of the planet, melting them, and consequentially, flooding the few islands that poked above the ocean. The inhabitants had to flee in a mass evacuation, leaving their businesses and lives behind. But, Starfox was hired to exterminate the creature, and Fox performed the task, personally. Of course, Andross's foul play was suspected.

But now, years later, Aquas had recovered from the devastating floods thanks to a team of terraformers. They refroze the ice caps, causing the water level to sink back to normal again, and the former residents were able to return and carry on with their lives.

Fox watched as the planet slowly orbited beneath him; swirls of frosty clouds covered the vast ocean, giving it the appearance of an azure marble. Constellations of scattered islands skirted the planet, dotting the ocean with specks of emerald. The Great Fox was now passing over the largest of the islands, covered in a dense jungle. Though a mere 2,000 miles in diameter, it was still large for Aquas. Several miles off the eastern coast was a large key of islands where the capital and their current destination, Aquaries, was located. The planet was formerly a Cornerian Colony, until it had been given its freedom, and subsequently became a member of the Free Trade Federation, a similar story for many planets.

As the Great Fox began its entrance into the atmosphere, tongues of fire licked across the front of the ship, heating up the outside coat of armor. Fox sat down in a chair to brace himself for the entry period, until the ship finally pulled up just outside of Aquaries. He moved back over to the windows to admire the tropical city; it was set on the very coast of the island, extending out into the ocean, even. Various canals and waterways ran through the city, providing easy and scenic transport for tourists. Most buildings were colored pearl white, which created a pleasing contrast with the aquamarine hew of the nearby ocean and canals, and the jungle green of the gardens and courtyards spread through the city.

But something seemed to be wrong about the island, and Fox knew why; they were preparing for an attack. The beaches to the right and left of the city, while normally populated by gardens of umbrellas and vacationers, was devoid of life, except for a few brave beachcombers walking near the waves. Through the eyepiece on his headset, Fox was able to zoom closer to the city, picking out finer details. Sandbags had been piled at different street and canal corners. Soldiers were patrolling the walkways, docks, and roofs of buildings. Tanks could be spotted along the docks, and patrol boats along the canals. But even more obvious was the giant fleet of naval battleships sailing around the immediate waterspace. Guarding the city from any seaward attacks. As the Great Fox approached the hangar of an impressive hotel, Fox realized it was about time he made it to the Great Fox's own hangar, to be with his team to depart.

I

A few minutes later, the Great Fox landed, and the steal doors of the hangar hissed open. They hopped down into the giant shed, now filled with military vehicles instead of the usual tourist shuttles, and hover cars. Fox lead his team out of the hangar, down a short, garden path, and into the courtyard of the luxurious-looking hotel Fox had seen. The courtyard was bound by a smooth, white wall that separated the garden from the outside street and adjacent canal. The garden itself was filled by an oval-shaped pool complete with diving board, sunning chairs, and umbrella-covered tables. Carpeting the courtyard was a blanket of soft grass crossed by paths of smooth, marble stepping stones. On the edges of the courtyard were thick hedges of tropical bushes and leafy plants. Palm trees reached into the sky from large pots half-buried in the turf, along with potted orchids and star-shaped, multi-colored flowers native to the islands of Aquas.

What Fox wouldn't give to spend a week at this hotel... he might even come there on his honeymoon, _if _he ever could work up the courage to ask Krystal... and _if _she was ever stupid enough to marry him. But then again, Tricky was expecting them to take their honeymoon at Sauria, so he probably would never get the chance to stay here. Of course Slippy and Amanda would, they just seemed to fit right in with the tropic atmosphere. How had his thoughts turned to this so fast? He didn't know. He had to keep his mind on track; he was fighting a war, for God's sake. And this was probably the last war; Andross had caused every single conflict so far in the Lylat System, so ending the mad scientist would bring peace to the System for years to come. _Then _he could finally get around to building a stronger relationship with Krystal.

But weren't these the same words he told himself years ago during the Aparoid Invasion? Once it was over, they would get serious? _But that was different; I had only known her for a year, _he told himself. But he had done the same thing a few years ago, before the Anglar Blitz; he had promised her they would build a relationship once the war with the Anglars was finished. He had made her quit the team so he wouldn't lose her, and where had that gotten them? She left for Starwolf in spite. _Hey, we at least made up, and I got her back on the team, didn't I? It's not my fault Andross has some aversion to us being together. Maybe that's why he's caused so many wars..._ but he was only joking with himself.And now, he was doing the same thing again; waiting. If he waited any longer, he felt sure something tragic was going to happen; Krystal would either be killed in the war, or their mutual flame would die out, and they would never be together. _Ask her, now, you idiot! No, I don't have a ring. Then find a store and buy one! They're probably all closed... _he continued to argue back and forth with himself for a minute. _Look, it's now or never, you might lose her again! But I'm in the middle of a blasted war! How can I think about – Both of you, shut up! _a third voice yelled at him inside his head. It wasn't Krystal's; it was his own again. _Thank God it wasn't Krystal's. _But he made up his mind then and there; he would think about those thoughts later; for now, it was strictly business, life threatening business, solar system threatening business, even. He had to keep his mind focused on the game if they were going to win the war. Krystal could wait a few more – _Screw it, _he thought as he took Krystal's paw. She smiled at him, returning the gentle grasp and making butterflies flutter in his stomach, and he was sure he hadn't swallowed any that were flying around the courtyard.

The team looked so out of place with their combat suits and weapons in the middle of a popular resort. But they weren't the only ones. A group of soldiers had moved into the courtyard, staking sandbags in front of the gate and setting up a large communications radio and holoprojector. _I wonder how high a quality of music that thing could play, _Fox thought. Other soldiers began piling sandbags behind a section of the wrap-around wall that faced the ocean, placing a rapid-fire laser tripod on top as if it were the cherry on a Sunday. Fox left Krystal's side and walked over to the communications man working the radio. The African Civet looked up as he approached, smiling and saluting when he recognized Fox. Fox returned the salute when he reached the umbrella table the civet was sitting at.

"Glad to have you with us, Commander McCloud. Anything I can do for you?"

"Yah, can you get me Major Ironstripe? I'm supposed to report to him."

"Sure thing; I'll have him in a moment." The civet spent another minute setting up the communications radio, then raised the Major on the intercom. Major Ironstripe's massive form was projected by the holocron, barely fitting into the projection space.

"Oh, McCloud, you arrived," the badger said. "As you may have seen, we set up defenses around the entire city; soldiers, tanks, and boats are guarding the urban areas, while naval fleets have the ocean blockaded, and aerial fleets are watching the skies. Our forces recently joined those of the FTF, and we should be strong enough to repel any attack. Any questions?"

"Yes, uh, what are we supposed to be doing? Any special mission?"

"None; just defend the docks bordering the ocean and waterways into the city."

"Ok, next question; wouldn't we be more effective in the air than on land?"

"If the need arises, you can just hop into you ships in the nearby hangar."

"Last question; where the heck are you?"

Ironstripe smiled. "Where else would I be? I need a place where I can smash in some heads, so I'll be commanding from the docks, and, hopefully, there'll be a lot of enemies coming my way so I don't have to kill my own men to keep occupied."

"Alright, thank you, Major."

"Pleasure. Ironstripe out." With that, the hologram dissipated into nothing, and Fox walked back over to his team at the side of the pool. Falco and Slippy were lazily pacing back and forth in front of the pool.

"Probably freezing cold..." Falco absently said, trying to convince himself he wasn't missing out on anything.

"And really wet," Slippy added, trying to do his best to reassure Falco. Needless to say, it was redundant. In fact, it was redundant of me to say it was redundant. Hm, it was also probably redundant of me to say it was redundant of me to say – oh, you get the point.

"I wish something would happen to take my mind off it," Falco continued, looking back and forth between Slippy and the pool. Just then, the radio blared out a report from High Command, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Warning, a large Androssian fleet has been detected at Sector Z; it is expected to be the invasion force. Be ready; they may warp here any minute."

Suddenly, a large, energy humming saturated the air, setting the team on edge. A large green beam soared from the center of the city into the air like a rising phoenix, spreading over the capital like a protective bubble, throwing a sea-green hew onto the bright sky. The shield would protect them from any kind of aerial attack, until the enemy cruisers actually passed through the shield, or it overheated and collapsed from absorbing too many hits.

"This is it; get ready, team," Fox said. "Winston, Beltino, you better go inside, you might get hurt."

Winston readily turned to go inside the hotel, but Beltino made no move to leave his deck chair.

"I think I'll wait here, at least, until the battle starts."

"Fine by me," Fox replied. The team waited around for a few minutes, preparing for the oncoming battle. Soon, they got a bit jumpy from all the suspense. Surely it didn't take that long for the fleet to warp to Aquas... The radio suddenly turned on to confirm their suspicions.

"False alarm," the voice said. "The entire fleet has maneuvered to Zoness; the attack may have been delayed. Stand-by for future messages."

"Just like that?" Amanda complained. "They call off the attack?"

"So... what are we supposed to do?" Slippy asked.

Falco glanced beside him at Slippy. There was a long moment of awkward silence as they stared at each other. Finally, with one push, he sent Slippy flying into the pool, creating a cannonball splash.

"I've been waiting for a long time to do that." Katt couldn't help but give a humorous snort at his confession. There was another awkward silence as Slippy rose to the surface, spitting out a fountain of water. An idea hit every member of the team, forming a grin on each of their faces as they looked at each other and nodded.

I

Not twenty minutes later, Krystal, Katt, and Amanda returned from a small shopping spree with swimsuits, towels, and sunscreen for the whole team. Fox and the communications man collaborated to find a good station to play over the military radio, which, as he suspected, had very high-quality speakers. Slippy had climbed out of the pool, and was rapidly drying off, while Falco and Winston had recently returned from the hotel lobby with champagne bottles, glasses, and expensive snacks; the manager had given them to the team, free of charge.

The girls distributed the swimsuits and set the sunscreen and towels on a nearby table.

"Beltino, do you want one?" Amanda asked, holding a pair of trunks up.

"Oh goodness gracious, no," he said, chuckling. "It would scare the children... if there were any..." he added, looking around. "No, I'm afraid my age has caught up with me; I'm too old for these antics."

A few minutes later, they had returned from the bathrooms too the pool. Falco turned around to see Winston emerge from the hotel, wearing both his Hawaiian swimming trunks and the upper half of his butler attire. "Really, Sniffy?"

"I must retain some dignity," he replied. "After all, I'm still a butler."

"Then why don't you serve me a drink?" Falco asked, walking over to the snack bar set up on an umbrella covered table. "And you can't lose any more of your dignity than you already have with that outfit."

"What about that drink you owe me, Falco?" Katt said as she strolled over to the same table.

"Right you are, madam." Winston said, handing the champagne bottle and glass to Falco. "It's high time I took a little day off. Cheers." And with that, he walked over to the pool and sat down on the grassy edge.

Slippy and Amanda had migrated to the pool pretty quickly, and had already jumped in again, which was typical of frogs. Fox, however, was sunning on the deck chairs with Krystal on the chair beside him. Beltino was sitting on his other side, face covered by a newspaper, probably asleep. Fox had his eyes closed, the bright rays of the sun seeping through his fur and eyelids, turning his vision a bright red.

_Well, that was pretty fast, _he thought. _Everyone's already paired up. _From the table behind them came the pleasant noise of Falco and Katt laughing together, a sign that Falco had finally gotten over his embarrassment. Fox realized something in that moment, which is probably the most mind-blowing revelation I can throw at him or you in this story; Slippy somehow had more courage than both he or Falco did; he was brave enough to get married to Amanda, while Fox and Falco were still working up the courage. He couldn't help but let out a chuckle, but was surprised when Krystal did the same.

"You're right, you know; Slippy's had more courage than either of you two have ever had."

"Have you been peeking into my mind again?" Fox accused, opening his eyes and looking at Krystal.

"No, what gave you that idea?" she answered, eyes still closed in the blissful warmth. Fox just smiled. "But even outside of relationships, Slippy still has a lot of courage. He may not have the skill either Falco, you, or even I have, but he makes up for it with his perseverance."

"Yah, I guess you're right," Fox admitted. _I'm finally jealous of something Slippy has._ In the short moment of silence that followed, they listened to the splashes of the two frogs; they still had yet to be officially married, as they hadn't got the chance to.

"So, when are you going to ask me?" Krystal asked.

"Ask you what?" Fox's mind was dazed a bit by the sun.

Krystal giggled. "You can be so clueless at times." She stared expectantly at him for a few more moments, but still he didn't get it. "Look's like you need some advice from the master," she said. "Hey, Slippy!" she called over to the pool.

"Yah?" he asked back.

"Fox needs some relational help."

"Like what?"

"I asked him when he was going to ask me the question, and he doesn't get it."

"Oh, she meant when are you going to propose to her." Slippy called back, turning his attention to Amanda again.

Fox felt his face heat up; he was thankful it was covered in fur. "Uh, do you still want to know?" Krystal just stared at him again, waiting. "Well, I _have_ been giving it much thought, it's just... we _are _in the middle of a war and all, so I've been trying to focus on that instead." _Hadn't he been going through this same argument with himself a few minutes ago? _"This... it just isn't the time for it," he finished.

Krystal scooted her deck chair closer to his, reclining on her side. "Will there ever be a good time?" she asked.

Fox stared off into the distance at the rolling waves barely visible between two buildings. "I don't know..." he admitted. When he saw Krystal's face look down, ears drooping a bit, he knew he had let her down. He reached over, lifting her chin up so that their eyes met, and Krystal smiled again. "But at least we can enjoy the time we have together. Who knows what's coming up. Right now, there is no battle, no war, no pain for us; just each other."

"And, as to the big question...?" Krystal trailed off.

"I promise, I'll get around to it. Again, there just isn't – "

"Oh, why don't you two just shut up and kiss already!?" Beltino's voice came from underneath the newspaper shading his face, startling Fox and Krystal. Why not? They smiled, turning back to each other, and began to lean in closer, Beltino peeking out from beneath the newspaper...

Suddenly, Falco and Slippy showed up, grabbing onto the back and front of Krystal's chair. As they lifted it into the air, Krystal frantically grabbed onto the sides.

"Hey!" Fox inquired. "What the heck are you two doing?"

"Sorry Fox; this is an intervention," Falco said as he and Slippy carried the chair over to the edge of the pool. Fox just sat there, laughing, as they dumped a screaming Krystal into the pool, creating another large splash. Katt walked over to Fox's deck chair, resting a paw on the back.

"You know, that bird has tossed a little too many people in the pool, don't you think so, Fox?"

"I couldn't agree more," Fox said as he stood up. He gestured for Katt to follow him as he walked over towards Falco, unsuspecting as he and Slippy were bawling with laughter. What was intended to be an easy kill, however, was spoiled; Falco noticed them coming out of the corner of his eye, and ducked under their pushing hands. Katt chased him around one end of the pool, while Fox went around the other; Falco was trapped between the two, the pool, and the curving wall behind him. As they grabbed on to him, he quickly tried to talk his way out of it.

"Whoa! Wait! Don't push me in! Just let me go in style!"

"What do you mean?" Katt asked as she and Fox held him dangerously out over the water.

"Let me dive off the board! I promise I'll do it now!"

"Swear," Fox said.

"I swear!" Fox gave a nod to Katt, and they let him go, though they escorted him to the edge of the diving board. "The did away with walking the plank years ago..." Falco mumbled as he stepped out onto the edge.

Fox crossed his arms and grinned as Falco took a few tentative hops, then sprung off the edge of the platform. _Ooh, he needs some diving practice, _Fox thought. _If he goes on like that, he's just going to belly... flop..._ But he trailed off when Falco spread his wings in mid-air, skimming the water across the pool to the opposite side, where he pulled up and landed on the white wrap-around wall next to a patrolling soldier.

"FALCO LOMBARDI!" Katt called. "YOU DOUBLE CROSSING, NO GOOD – "

"Bet you didn't see that comin'! I don't see why you're whining, I promised I'd dive off, didn't I? Man, you shoulda seen the looks on your – " As Falco continued to gloat for a few more seconds, the guard standing beside him on the wall looked back and forth between him and the pool below, than at Fox who was gesturing at the guard to push him in. The guard saluted, then quickly shoved Falco over the edge of the wall and into the pool, creating the biggest splash yet; the joke was on him.

"Oh that's not fair," Falco complained as he rose to the surface.

"Alright, Katt; you next," Fox said as he picked Katt up.

"What!? I thought we were a TEEEEEEAM!" another splash sent waves across the surface, and Fox finally jumped in behind her.

I

They played in the pool for a long time, but Fox eventually noticed storm clouds moving in from the sea. Falco swam over beside Fox, following his gaze across the sky.

"Those clouds don't look too good," he said.

"Probably just a mild tropical storm," Beltino assured them. He had moved his chair closer to the pool. "It will blow over soon enough."

"Hm, it would be a pretty nice way for Andross to strike," Falco said. "The shield is off right now, and he would have the storm to cover his ship's backs; they could easily sneak in through our fleet without us noticing them... until it was too late."

"I think you're just jumping to conclusions right now; the storm wouldn't hide them from our satellites."

Fox thought he saw a flash of lightning at the edge of the storm, but something didn't seem right about it... He squinted his eyes at the storm, now only a few miles off the coast; another flash of lightning lit the grey clouds, and he realized what was wrong; it was _green _lightning. "Beltino, watch for lightning; it doesn't seem natural."

Beltino narrowed his gaze at the storm until another bolt streaked across the sky. "You're right; that's no ordinary storm; it's an ion storm."

"Meaning?" Fox probed.

"Meaning our satellites _can't _see into it. Someone engineered that storm..."

But the sea wasn't the first place the enemy reared its head.

Suddenly, there was a brilliant flash in the sky as a massive fleet of cruisers pulled out of hyperspace; Fox recognized a few of the cruisers to be Andross's Draco Class Battleships, but the rest seemed to be new, and deadlier. The radio man seemed to get a command from his headset. He rushed over to the communications system, quickly setting it back on the military operations station. The urgent voice of Major Ironstripe came on.

"Attention all troops; Androssian forces have just arrived! All pilots, lug yer tales in your ships and take off! Ground troops, stand by for action."

The storm was now only a quarter of a mile off coast, the dark pillars of swirling grey towering over the ocean-side city. Another hum was heard as the shield generator started up for the second time that day, just in time to absorb several hails of laser fire from the Androssian Fleet, which was engaging the Cornerian and FTF fleets. Beltino rushed over to the radio man, who patched him into Major Ironstripe.

"Major; don't be distracted by the overhead fleet!"

"Eh, whaddaya mean? Why?"

"That storm is harboring a sea based fleet of attackers, probably so they can sneak in and destroy the shield! They're under the cover of an ion storm, so we can't detect them! They're right in the middle of the fleet now!"

"Right, I'll prepare the men at the docks and have the fleet search them out; get Fox and his crew over here with me as soon as possible!"

Beltino turned to the team, who were already climbing out of the pool, frantically. "You heard the Major! MOVE!"

They scrambled out of the pool and over to their piles of clothing, pulling it on without even drying off; they looked like school children about to miss their bus. Most of them stopped when they were only half dressed, skipping the rest of their clothes and pulling on gun and ammo belts. Fox lead the way out of the hotel courtyard as they sprinted a block to the dock yards that bordered the ocean. They ran another block down the shipyard to Major Ironstripe's position; he was ordering around his soldiers from a small storage building where most of his command equipment had been set up. A small messenger rabbit ran up to him, timidly saying something to the Major, who bent down to hear him better.

"You all dropped them WHERE!?" he angrily shouted. "Then, go GET THEM!" he finished as he lifted the unfortunate rabbit into the air and hurled him, pleading, into the water, reminiscent of their recent party. When he noticed the Starfox team starring at him, Falco grinning, but Amanda horrified, he let out an embarrassed cough. "Uh, sorry you had to see that. He's probably alright." He cracked his knuckles. "Now, what are your doing again?"

"You asked us to report to you," Fox reminded him.

"Oh, yes, thanks. Alright; split yourselves up as you see fit, and cover the water ways into the city; unfortunately, the shield generator is accessible by way of sea, so they can just sail right in an' blow it up if we don't stop 'em. We need the shield to last as long as it can before it collapses! Now off wit ya!"

Fox turned around to his team. "Slippy, Amanda; you stay here with Ironstripe, and stay out of his way, or you might end up like that guy;" he said, pointing to the rabbit who was just now crawling out of the water with a holocron device. "Falco, Katt, you take the northern sector of the docks, while Krystal and I will defend the middle. Any questions?"

Slippy immediately spoke. "Why are your pants on backwards?"

Fox looked down at his combat fatigues, which, sure enough, were on backwards. "Um, I will fix that momentarily. Now off wit ya!" he finished, mimicking the Major. Slippy and Amanda took up positions around the immediate docking area, while the other four began another sprint across the docks to the north, occasionally crossing draw bridges as they went. Roughly half way there, Fox signaled for Krystal to stop, waving Falco and Katt on to their sector.

"Good luck, Falco," he called after him. As they disappeared farther up the docks, Fox and Krystal took cover behind a wall of sandbags conveniently erected for them. They had stopped at the largest canal into the city, as this was where the Androssians would strike the hardest.

"Um, you can probably fix your pants now, Fox."

"Right. Don't worry, I'm still wearing that swimsuit," he added as he began fixing his pants. Krystal just laughed as she pulled out her blaster, attaching a scope to the top. She had hastily strapped her staff to her back, in case they ran into any close quarter combat, which she was sure they would. The storm was now upon them; it had drifted through the shield barrier while the ions just melded into the shield, unable to pass. The storm, in fact, stretched all the way to the ground like a fog, blocking her view from the army shrouded in its midst. There were several flashes of light; the FTF fleet must have found the Androssians in their midst, and were engaging them. But they couldn't block all of them from the city...

Suddenly, time seemed to skip a few seconds ahead:

A flash in the distance.

An explosion all around her.

A muffled scream.

And just like that, time returned. "Fox, watch out!" She cried as she tackled him. Sure enough, a battleship opened fire on them, a bombshell exploding not far behind them. The explosion still hurt, but they had been low enough to escape most of the force. Fox righted himself, thanking Krystal as he helped her up.

"We can't do anything right now; we might as well pull back a bit until they land. We'll let the soldiers do their work." With that, he pulled Krystal with him behind a large building that shielded them from the sea. They pressed themselves against the wall, Fox still holding Krystal's paw. They breathed heavily as flashes from the enemy bombardment lit the sides of the buildings in front of them. Finally, the barrage stopped, and they were able to hear the shouts and jeers of the Androssian soldiers; the landing ships were close... they might as well attack now.

Fox nodded to Krystal, who followed behind him as he jumped out from the building, blaster ablaze. He effortlessly hit several soldiers standing on the edge of an approaching ship; they clutched at their wounds and fell off the side of the ship, plunging into the water and saturating it a dark red. When the ship bumped up against the side of the dock, the rest of the soldiers jumped off the side, a few tying the ship down with a rope. As the soldiers unwisely turned their attention to eliminating Fox, Krystal took the chance to scale up the side of an adjacent building; she latched onto the gutter, crawling sideways until she was within jumping distance of the group; she pushed herself off the wall, drawing her staff from the strap across her back, and slammed the pommel into the ground. The whole block shook from the attack; the nearest soldiers were flung back several yards, while the farthest ones at least fell to the ground. They both took the chance to shoot the soldiers while they were down, easily dispatching them. Fox blew the smoke from his blaster, but Krystal quickly gestured to two more landing ships approaching the dock on either side of the first one. It was going to be a struggle to get out of this one...

"Come-on! We'll pull back to the one on the right so we aren't surrounded." They started a dangerous dash across the dock as the soldiers opened fire on them. But once they had reached the corner of the docks, it became apparent that they had no cover; ships had landed all they way down, as far as they could see. They stopped running on the middle of a bridge that spanned one of the canals into the city.

"It's too late," Krystal panted. "They've taken the closest docks."

"I hope Falco and Katt are Ok," Fox mumbled.

"And Amanda and Slippy," Krystal added.

"Oh, I'm not worrying about them."

"Why? Ironstripe?"

"Ironstripe."

Krystal couldn't help but smile. The Androssians wouldn't be able to take his side of the docks as long as he was there. Her ears perked up, and she turned to face the ocean. "Fox, there's a ship coming towards us."

"They must be crazy... they can't... the bridge is down, obviously; we're standing on it. They'd have to smash their way through."

"I think that's what they have in mind." Sure enough, the battleship only slowed down a bit so that it could better position itself to fit through the canal. As several lasers streaked their way, they quickly ducked behind the cover of the bridge's wall. "They're about to ram the bridge!"

"SPLIT!" Fox ordered. They dove off the bridge, Fox to the North side while Krystal jumped down the South, just as the small battleship smashed through it. Fox rolled as he hit the ground, finally coming to a stop. He looked up, a bit dazed from the impact. The battleship had passed them, probably sailing down the canal to destroy the shield generator at the center of the city. He next looked across the canal to Krystal, who had just made it to her feet and was looking at him, expectantly. He stood up, giving a little shrug, but he still indicated the battleship. They took off at a full run, rapidly catching up with the heavy ship.

_How are we going to stop it? _Fox heard Krystal's voice inside his head.

_Try and board it, _Fox replied.

As they caught up with the front deck of the ship, the soldiers aboard quickly spotted them and opened fire on them. Krystal used her staff's shielding ability, which formed a protective bubble around her that absorbed any lasers lucky enough to come close to her. Fox was forced to use his energy deflector while running at the same time; he skipped over several boxes and crates just as the soldiers fired upon him. He leapt from box to box, still keeping pace with the ship, swinging his deflector to block the lasers as they came towards his side. He took a quick look ahead of Krystal and himself, noticing two buildings on either side that ended the walkways by the canal; they would have to board now before they came up on the wall. Krystal made a flying leap for the boat, grabbing onto the edge, though struggling to pull herself up. The soldiers seemed to notice her, and hurried over to her side. The wall was directly in front of Fox now. He ran until he was as close as he could get to the canal without falling in, and didn't stop because of the building; instead, he performed a wall run on the side that bordered the canal. He took one, two, three whole steps up and across the vertical surface until he pushed off the side, landing on the ship. He ran over to the soldiers who had surrounded Krystal, giving several a quick shove into the water beneath before the rest could react. He ducked a swipe from a bayonet, head-butting the soldier in the stomach, then bringing his fist down on his head. By now, Krystal had not only finished climbing up the side, but had also dispatched the remaining two soldiers with her staff. Fox pulled a grenade from his belt, set it off, and dropped it down a hatch into the interior of the ship. A satisfying explosion followed, and the ship slowed down to a crawl, allowing them to safely dismount into an open marketplace.

"_Hey, Fox," _Falco's voice came over his intercom.

"What's up?"

"_I think we have the north sector secure... how's yours_?"

"I don't know, we got sidetracked following a battleship up a canal."

"_Well, don't worry about it; the Lylatans here are moving __i__nto your sector._"

"So, it sounds like you have a plan, Falco."

"_Right; I'm thinking we should help the boys in the aerial battle; everything seems to be Ok down here._"

"Are Slippy and Amanda done?"

"_Are you kidding?_" Slippy was talking now. "_We beat them back awhile ago! No small part due __to Ironstripe, that is._"

"All right; I'll get ROB to bring the Great Fox around and pick us up." He pressed a button on his communicator, calling the Great Fox. "ROB, are you there?"

"_Affirmative,_" came his mechanical sounding answer.

"Launch the Great Fox. Slippy and Amanda are in the southern sector of the docks, while Falco and Katt are in the north sector."

"_And you?_"

"Pick us up last; I want to make sure our sector is secure."

"_Roger, Fox._"

Fox let his arm drop back to his side, gesturing for Krystal to follow him with a nod of his head. "Come on; let's see if the Lylatans have retaken our docks yet." They moved through the market place at a slight jog, tired from their recent exertion. Suddenly, Krystal slid to a stop and pointed skyward.

"Fox, look at those!"

Fox trained his vision on a cluster of Androssian cruisers that had pulled off from the battle, closing in on the shield.

"It's a new type of cruiser..." Fox trailed off. The fronts of the cruisers had opened, pealing back like a banana, though Andross wouldn't have been pleased to hear that description. The insides of the fins that had opened up to face the shield glowed a bright red, and Fox realized they were cannons, cannons that lined the whole inside of the fins, all the way to the center where they connected to the cruiser. With a screaming burst, the lasers began firing on the shield in a steady stream, casting a red hue over the entire city; the shield was taking most of the punishment, but it seemed to be glowing brighter. A high pitched whine started, growing louder and louder, and higher and higher, until Fox was nearly blacking out from it. He and Krystal covered their ears, falling down on the stone street. When the whine became too high to hear, and the shield glowed as bright as the sun, the shield finally gave in. The energy particles from the shield collapsed back into the generator in the middle of the city, which exploded and sent a massive shock wave through every street and canal. Fox and Krystal, who were already on the ground, were blown a few feet down the street from the explosion, and market stands were forced on their sides, along with any hover-cars near by. Mortar and bricks fell in large chunks around them; one crashed right next to Fox's head, scattering bricks all over him, and knocking him out. His world went black...

I

"Fox... Fox... please wake up. Oh, Fox! Can you hear me?"

Fox's vision slowly returned to him as he came to. He was lying in the middle of a pile of rubble, Krystal propping him up and gently shaking him. "I'm... Ok..." he managed to say. He reached his paw up to his head, feeling a nasty bump he had acquired, his paw coming back sticky with blood.

"Alright, HANDS UP, CORNERIANS!" Fox suddenly became aware of Androssian soldiers surrounding them; they were standing a few yards away, slowly closing in on them.

"Are you Ok?" he asked Krystal as he sat up.

"I'm probably fine," she assured him.

Fox painfully stood up, reaching down to Krystal. "Can you stand?"

"I... think so." She took his hand, attempting to stand up, but gave a small cry of pain and slid back down. "I think my leg is broken." Fox took a moment to examine Krystal, noticing her other numerous wounds as well. Fox knelt back down beside her.

"I said, HANDS UP!" the Androssian squad leader ordered again.

Fox payed them no attention; not while Krystal was hurt. He opened up a small first aide kit Krystal had attached to her belt, and began tending to her wounds.

If they surrendered, they would probably be taken to Andross as fast as possible, and that wasn't a doom he would face. Fox felt around his belt, but his energy deflector and blaster were gone; they had been blown away when the shield collapsed. Krystal took he own blaster out of its holster and slipped it to Fox, a tear sliding down her cheek. "What do you plan to do?" she whispered.

"Just... stay down," he said. He gave Krystal one last kiss, and stood up to face the enemy.

"DROP THE GUN!"

"Get down, Krystal!" Krystal complied, pressing herself flat against the rubble.

Fox stood over her, defensively, and fired his blaster at the sergeant, killing him. The rest of the soldiers immediately opening fire on him. He leaned to the right and down a bit, dodging the lasers and felling two more soldiers with his own. Performing a side flip over some laser fire, he turned his attention to the soldiers behind him, shooting several more behind them. On laser grazed his side, and he let out a short grunt of pain. There was still a soldier behind him. In an instant, he kicked up a rock, catching it in his left hand, and spun around just as he heard the lone blaster fire. He set his foot firmly against the stone street, rock extended towards the blast; the laser shattered the rock, stinging his bare paw. Not hesitating, he fired his own blaster and killed the last soldier. But more were coming.

"Come on, Krystal, we gotta get out of here!" He helped her up and they began staggering away down the street.

Suddenly, the Great Fox descended from the sky with a roar of jet thrusters, landing a few yards behind them. Fox was supporting Krystal as they walked backwards into the hangar, blaster ablaze at the soldiers chasing them.

"Alright, ROB; take off!" he ordered when they stepped into the hangar.

"_Amanda here; I've got the controls. Everyone's aboard!_"

Fox eased Krystal slowly onto the floor as the steal doors lazily began to close behind them. The Great Fox lifted off the ground to begin its flight.

"We've got to get you to the med-bay, quick!" As he said it, Falco rushed into the hangar, worry etched in his face when he noticed Krystal. "Falco, give me a hand!"

But before Falco could make it over to them, the Great Fox suddenly shook from an explosion; Krystal was jarred out of Fox's hands as the ship tilted crazily backwards. Krystal rolled down the steep slope, screaming as she fell out the small gap that remained in the hangar doors.

"Oh, no, KRYSTAL!" Falco exclaimed as he slid to the side of the hangar doors, slamming his winged fist into the button that reopened them. As the ship righted itself, Fox rushed to the edge, looking out at the market place below; the soldiers were surrounding Krystal's crumpled form. They weren't too high up, were they? Fox used the blaster Krystal had given him to pick off some of the soldiers while Falco drew his own to help him. Fox didn't even flinch when an enemy's laser struck the hangar door next to him. The marketplace was getting farther and farther away from them.

"AMANDA!" Fox yelled into his com. "TURN US AROUND! WE DROPPED KRYSTAL!"

"_Ok, I'm hurrying!_"she replied. But as it pulled closer to their location, the Great Fox shook with several explosions. "_Sorry, Fox; we have to pull out! The fire is too heavy!_"

Fox was on a one track mind; Krystal. When Amanda didn't turn the ship around, he ran over to a pile of winged packs he and Beltino had used earlier to fly to the AWG's facility.

"Uh, Fox, what are you doing?"

Fox made no reply as he walked back to the open hangar doors, about to slip the pack on. Falco quickly stopped him, grabbing onto his shoulders and looking him in the eye.

"What the heck are you doing!" he said, more firmly, this time.

"Back off, Falco." He jerked Falco off of him, continuing to slip the pack on.

"Fox, don't be an idiot! You're gonna get killed if you go down there!" He could see tears streaming down his friend's face.

"I have to save her!"

"But you can't! There's no way! It's hell out there with all those soldiers!"

"DON'T TRY AND STOP ME!" Fox spat back as he stepped over to the edge. Falco grabbed onto the pack, whirling him around.

"Have you lost your MIND!?" As Fox shook him off and turned around, Falco just spun him around again, this time dealing a blow to his friend's jaw. "Sorry, Fox... you needed that."

Fox didn't even blink before landing a powerful blow in Falco's stomach. Falco recovered quickly, tackling Fox before he could jump out, and rolling dangerously close to the edge. Falco quickly pinned Fox, who was weighed down by his pack.

"LISTEN TO ME!" he shouted into Fox's face, slapping him with his wing. "YOU CAN'T RISK THE WAR BECAUSE OF SOME GIRL!" After a few moments of intense struggle, Fox finally relaxed, panting. "You're obsessing over her too much! It's not the end of the world! We can rescue her, just not now!"

After Fox calmed down, Falco got off of him, letting him get up. He stared at Falco hard, panting, but Falco couldn't look him in the eye after what he had done. "Thanks, _friend,_" he spat. He whirled away, marching deeper into the Great Fox, while Falco turned away to watch Aquaries fall away from them, a tear of his own sliding down onto his beak. It was a hard decision, but it had to be made.

"_Falco, is everything Ok?_" he heard Amanda's voice over the com.

"Frankly, no."

I

An hour later, Fox was still in his bedroom. The rest of his team had knocked at his door several times, but he refused to answer; he needed to be alone. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, looking down at the floor where his tears had saturated the rug. He would occasionally glance up at a picture of Krystal on his dresser, but he couldn't hold his gaze there for long.

_What's happening to me? _He thought. _Why can't I go on? _But he knew the answer; Krystal was half of him, and with half of him gone, there was no way he could function.

_Does a woman really mean this much to me? When she leaves, do I just... fall apart?_

It was his fault she had been captured; he could have saved her. He could have stopped her from falling, jumped out after her immediately, or at least have had the brains to not stop in the hangar. But there was no use dwelling on that. He was wasting his time; he couldn't re-write the past.

He had to find her; there was no question about that. The war could wait. He would find her, and rescue her from the clutches of Andross, or bury her, if she was dead. He paled at the thought. _How do I know if she's even alive? There's no guarantee she survived the fall, or that they haven't killed her yet... and if she's alive, what will Andross do to her? _His only chance was that she was with the retreating Androssian forces; Andross would want her alive, no doubt. He would follow them, alone, if he had to.

He was going insane from not knowing! Was she alive? Was she dead? Will she die? Oh, what he would give for any information. He knew he couldn't live much longer under this torture.

Suddenly, his wrist com blinked.

He had received a message.

He wiped the tears from his face with his paw, and opened up his inbox on his watch. The new message was from... Krystal! He immediately grasped at the chance; this one string of hope. He opened the letter, which simply read:

_63° 2' N, 29° 55' W _

_Zoness_

It wasn't much; there was no way they would have allowed her to keep her communicator. He looked in his mirror.

_A trap?_

_ Who cares. _He made up his mind to follow the message.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21: Black**

I

"You still here, Slip?"

"Hm, wha?" Slippy looked up from his seated position to see Falco standing over him, wings crossed. He was sitting on the floor just outside of Fox's bedroom, arms wrapped around his knees as he leaned back against the cold, metal wall. Slippy made an attempt to wipe the tear marks from his face, but it only seemed to smear them even more. "Oh, F- Falco... don't look at me when I'm like this."

Falco knelt down beside the sad mechanic, though he couldn't bear to look him in the eye. "Hey, man, it's fine. I think we're all like this right now..." His gaze drifted to Fox's bedroom door, which remained impassively closed. "Has he shown any signs of coming out yet?"

Slippy shook his head. "No, at- at least, not while I was awake; I kinda dozed off for a bit waiting for him."

"How long have you been here?"

Looking around, Slippy realized the Great Fox had entered its night cycle already. "Since the last time we checked on him."

Falco felt a bit guilty; Slippy had waited into the night for Fox to come out, while Falco had given up and returned to his own room the last time they knocked on his door. They had tried everything to get Fox out, but he was just too... depressed, broken after Krystal was kidnapped. He took one last look at Fox's door, then made up his mind.

"C'mon, buddy," he said, standing up and holding his hand out to Slippy. Slippy stared at it for awhile, then finally took it as Falco helped him up.

"What are we doing?"

"We're gonna bust through Fox's door no matter what; he's spent far too long moping by himself."

"And what will we do then?" Slippy asked, a bit doubtful. "Mope with him?"

"Oh, we'll cheer him up somehow. Come on; we'll shoulder our way through." Falco stepped back, ready to throw the full weight of his shoulder against the door, but Slippy didn't join him. Instead, he pointed to a small light glowing next to the door handle. It was green.

"The door's unlocked now," Slippy informed him before Falco could bash his skull open in

an attempt to open the door.

"Unlocked?" Falco asked, curious. Slippy turned the nob and led the way into Fox's room, which was pitch dark. Falco hit the light switch on the side of the wall.

"Yo, Fox, sorry we had to – " But he cut himself short.

Fox was nowhere in sight.

"No..." he muttered. He rushed over to Fox's bathroom, but he wasn't there, either.

"Is he... gone?" Slippy asked, a tremble in his voice.

"ROB," Falco said into his wrist comm. "Can you locate Fox for me?"

"_Negative; Fox is nowhere on the ship._" ROB's already mechanical voice was even more garbled over the radio.

Falco felt a chilling sense of reality fill his body; Fox _was _gone.

Slippy unexpectedly let out a burst of rage as he grabbed onto Falco's communicator and shouted into it. "THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US ABOUT HIM, YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SCRAP METAL!?"

Unshaken by Slippy's anger, ROB replied, "_There was nothing I could do; Fox is my master, I can't go against his will._"

Slippy burst into a new wave of tears as he sat down, helpless, on the edge of Fox's empty bed.

Falco spoke into his comm again, this time calling everyone on board the Great Fox. "We got ourselves an emergency! Repeat, we have an emergency! Everyone, haul your tales into the bridge immediately!"

I

Falco and Slippy were the last ones into the bridge. The moment they entered, Amanda, Katt, Beltino, and Winston all asked them, "IS IT FOX!?" in more or less the same words. Falco glanced at Slippy, who was staring down at the floor, wrangling a wrench in his hands. Looked like it was up to him.

"Fox is... missing."

There was a moment of silence where no one spoke, the reality of the situation slowly sinking in.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Beltino asked, breaking the silence. "Let's find the idiot!"

He flew over to the main monitor of the Great Fox, furiously working at the controls. "If Krystal is alive, she was probably taken with the Androssian forces that retreated to Zoness after the failed attack on Aquas. That is where Fox must be headed."

"But with nothing to go one?" Amanda asked, confused. "What could he do? A one man suicide on Zoness airspace?"

"I wouldn't doubt it," Katt said. "Knowing Fox, his impulsiveness will make him act on whatever lead he has, no matter how small."

"There is something you should know," ROB spoke up. "Fox received a message from Krystal's communicator, telling him to go here." A holographic map of Zoness was projected, a reticule marking a point out in the ocean... a small island, maybe.

Beltino adjusted his glasses, staring at it. "I believe that is the floating city of... Atorantisu. It floats on the sea just west of the capital."

"ROB; take us there," Falco ordered.

"I must warn you, the Androssian fleet is occupying the capital nearby; it would be dangerous to fly there."

"I said, take us there."

I

Slowly, swirls of light filled in the darkness that had been Fox's conscience for the past hour; he was finally waking up.

His vision remained blurry, as if he was staring through a fish bowl, and in that time, he went over the recent events in his mind.

Krystal had been kidnapped... or worse; that, of course, was the first thing he remembered.

He had gotten a message that told him to go to a specific set of coordinates in Zoness.

He did. Alone.

Which was a mistake.

As soon as he walked into the front door of the abandoned warehouse, he had been slugged, and that was the last thing he remembered.

Finally, his senses cleared, and his next objective was to reorient himself.

He was sitting on a hard, metal chair at a boring-looking table. The room he was in was quite small, only lit by a single bulb hanging from the ceiling. The dim light only hit the closest sides of the room; the corners at the extremes where clouded in shadow. The walls were made of concrete, dirt and grime randomly spread on their sides like a piece of modern art. The room was bare except for the table and chair he was seated at, a few, small boxes piled in the corners, and a pipe running along the ceiling that ever so often would drip water.

Fox raised his paw to the back of his head to rub the nasty bump he had acquired, and then it struck him; his paws weren't tied; he was free to move around. And then he finally noticed his blaster lying on the table, neatly in front of him. _They hadn't even bothered to take that..._

He reached for it, feeling safe again when he held it in his hands. He checked the energy meter, and was glad to see it was nearly full. It seemed fully functional, even.

What was to stop him from escaping? He looked around, but the door must have been shrouded in shadows. He was about to stand up when he noticed the darkness on the opposite side of the table from him shift suddenly, and the scrape of a chair as it was scooted towards the table. As the shadow came into the glowing aura cast by the overhead bulb, Fox realized it was an animal wrapped in a dark cloak, a hood over his head, shrouding his face.

"I expect you have a lot of questions, Fox." His voice was that of a vulpine, probably a fox like himself. It sounded a lot like his own voice, except slightly deeper, and a bit gravelly, like it was strained. When Fox didn't say anything, the figure took his silence as an indicator to continue. "Before I start my own little spiel, I think I'll answer some of those questions, so you can at least bear to listen to me for awhile without dying from lack of knowledge. I can fill you in on the rest later. You have three questions; choose wisely."

Fox didn't know what this man's beef was, but he decided to play along. He sat in silence for a few seconds as he decided on the best way to word his questions.

"What do I have to do to get Krystal back?" Fox was surprised by the own hoarseness of his voice.

The hooded figure tilted a face up. Though the light from the lamp illuminated it now, it was still hidden by a glittering black masquerade mask that covered the top half of his face down to his snout. Even his fur was black. Fox was sure that he was a fox now.

"Predictable. All you have to do is help _me_ get her back."

Fox didn't know what to make of the answer, so he decided to wait for more details later.

"Where are we?"

Fox could make out a small grin forming on his captor's face. "63° 2' N, 29° 55' W,

Zoness."

"Well that was helpful."

"I try. Now, last question."

Fox new it wasn't a question that would be too beneficial to him, but he just had to ask it; "Who are you?"

"A friend who wants to see you complete and functioning at your best for the future. You may call me 'Black.'"

Black... it fit. "So... you're on my side? Not Andross' side?"

"I _am_ on your side. I will always be on your side, though it may not, at many times, appear so. I will never be on Andross's side, and he won't be around much longer, anyways."

"And, by the future, you mean... the upcoming battle? The final battle?"

"Your fight with Andross is not the last battle."

"There's an enemy bigger than Andross?"

"Sorry, Fox; that's straying too far from your last question."

Fox sighed, a bit disappointed. "Alright; continue with your 'spiel.'"

Black just stared at Fox for a silence filled minute. Finally, he set two glass vials on the table; they were filled with a nectar-colored liquid.

"I'm going to illustrate a little lesson to you, Fox; it may help you understand my problem; the ultimate problem."

_A lesson? _Fox thought. _Where have I heard that before..._

"You sound like my father."

Black's ears perked up beneath his hood. "James?"

Fox nodded.

"I know he took time out to personally train you to fly." Black seemed to know a lot about him... too much for comfort.

"No, recently, he's been acting strange... I can never understand what he's getting at."

"What do you mean, 'recently?' He's been dead about 15 years."

"I've been having recurring dreams where he tries to tell me something, but... I just never can figure it out."

"Strange... I also know he has appeared to you several times after he died... as if he was a ghost."

"How did you know?" Fox shot at him, accusingly. "I haven't told that to anyone besides my closest friends!"

"I have my ways..."

An idea popped into Fox's head. _No... he couldn't be... but it's been so long since I last saw him in person, he might have changed a lot._

"Are you... James?"

Black smiled. "Do I look like James?"

"Take off your mask," Fox answered back.

The smile disappeared from his face. "I... can't do that."

"Why?"

"Old scars." Black traced a line across his left brow, carefully.

Fox didn't know what he felt; he was kind of relieved this man before him wasn't his father, but at the same time, he would at least have him back again. It was a crazy idea, anyway.

Black slide the two vials farther apart from each other and continued with his 'lesson.' "Now, one of these vials is filled with a harmless juice... the other, a deadly poison that will kill you, after a few side effects, and maybe a large amount of time. You must choose one before you leave this room."

"Or what?" Fox asked, wary of needlessly risking his life. "What's to stop me from leaving this room?" He cocked his blaster. "Or killing you right here and now?"

"You won't leave this room or shoot me, because I am your only link to Krystal's location. You would also have a hard time shooting me, even if you were stupid enough to try."

"But how do I know the bottles aren't both poison? Why should I trust you?"

"If I wanted you dead, I wouldn't have bothered to knock you out, drag you a few feet into this room, wait for you to come to, and prepare a speech to give to a dead man."

"So... there's a fifty-fifty chance I die, right? Are _you _even willing to risk me choosing the wrong one? Will this help solve your little 'problem,' if I die?"

Black raised his paw, palm open to the vial on his right; without even touching it, the vial slide forward half a foot across the table towards Fox, who wasn't about to be impressed by a small magic trick, though he did wonder how Black pulled it off...

"I say this is the safe one; I know I put it on my right side. Do you trust me?"

Fox reached out, slowly closing his fist around the vial. He raised it to the light above them, watching as the amber liquid sloshed around as he did so.

"Do you trust me?" the dark vulpine repeated.

Fox realized why the vial was shaking so much; he was trembling from fear. Never before had he been so sure he would die; his heart was hammering in his chest, his pulse was racing, and sweat was trickling down his brow. He made up his mind. He lowered the vial, hurriedly twisting off the cap and drinking it so that he couldn't chicken out and stop himself. He slammed the empty vial back down on the table.

I

Krystal's eyes flickered open.

At first, she couldn't tell the difference; her vision didn't change at all. The same inky darkness of her inner recesses seemed to be covering her surroundings. Then, as she became more observant, she was able to make out the most obvious details.

She was lying on a large, stone table that looked like an eight pointed star. She groggily stood up, but a wave of pain shot through her, and she fell back down. Her leg was still very much broken, but she seemed to have sustained several more injuries from her fall. As she settled back into her original position, a set of chains connected to manacles around her wrists clinked. There was no getting off this rock.

She was in a large atrium, it seemed, with arches towering up to a vaulted ceiling. The walls were made out of cheap, dirty concrete, but the design they had been shaped into was much too elegant for such a material. A green blanket of fog covered the ground bellow her, and it seemed to be pouring from a few pipes embedded in the walls. Thankfully it wasn't rising.

She turned her attention back to her wounds. Fox had hastily bandaged her leg, which would be fine, as long as she didn't put much wait on it.

Fox.

His name brought a wave of comfort to her, slightly numbing her pain. She had to hold onto what little light she had in this dark place. The haunting room seemed to suck the very life out of her with each passing moment; hope was the only thing she had left.

_Oh, Fox, where are you?_

I

_ Nectar..._

Fox let out his pent-up stress in a relieved sigh, wiping the sweat from his brow.

He had chosen the right one.

"So this is your lesson... I have to learn to trust you?"

"No. Well, yes, you do... but that isn't what this lesson is meant to show." Black opened his paw again, and the empty vial slide back across the table into his grasp. He set both of the vials back into their original positions. Fox waited for his captor to continue, as if he was building up to some brilliant revelation.

"You drank the wrong glass."

Fox stared at him for a moment. "You _wanted_ me to drink the poison?"

"No, you _did _drink the poison."

Fox blanched, worried again. "But... it was just nectar..."

"You did drink the nectar. But you also drank the poison."

"I only drank one, and it was nectar." He let out a nervous chuckle as he pointed to the full glass. "See? How can I have drank both of them? The poisoned one is still full!"

"Fox, did you have a _choice_? Could you have drank from either of these bottles?"

"Yes, but I only drank from one – "

"If you had a choice, you drank from both of them. Theoretically, half of you drank the poison, and are experiencing the side effects this very moment. Realistically, only a few of you did."

"Half of me?" Fox gave Black a quizzical look. "What do you mean?"

"I mean the moment you had to decide, you became two people who can't observe each other; one of them chose the nectar, the other drank the poison, and is doomed to die. In actuality, there are an infinite amount of you, all sprouting from the infinite combinations you could have chosen; basically, it all comes down to two important choices, but you could have hesitated a few seconds, talked with me for awhile, blinked your eyes at a different time than the others, or refused to drink from the glasses at all."

"But this is crazy! I know I drank the nectar!"

"And another version of yourself at this very minute who drank the _poison _is probably telling me the same thing. From the second you became conscience in your mother's womb, you began splitting into an infinite amount of different people with every choice you made, even the unconscious ones. In fact, with every choice you make, new universes are born, each with a different outcome. Right now, it is only a theory; the Multiverse theory."

"It's impossible! Do you even have any proof?"

Black hesitated; it looked like he was about to answer, but he cut himself short before he could. He sighed, rubbing his head.

"Fox... there is so much I could tell you. Keeping you in the dark may be the death of me... but it's the only way." He became silent, thinking on how to answer. "What I can tell you, is that there was an experiment. I won't bore you with the details, but two scientists, both alternate versions of each other, happened to perform the same exact experiment on the same exact particle, and were able to communicate with each other through Morse code. His experiment was hushed up... in fact, I was the one who silenced him."

"You... killed him?"

Black refused to reply.

"So what is your lesson? What's the point?"

"The ultimate problem, Fox, is that you took the nectar, _and _the poison. You can't control what your other self does; it's inevitable. All we can do, is fight our own wars in one of an infinite amount of universes, where we can't even help each other. We can claim all the victories we want in this world, but that doesn't change the fact that we also failed in numerous other worlds. And now it is my turn to ask, 'what's the point?' We can't change what happens in other dimensions, and even if we could, there is an infinite amount of them! We can _never _change them all! So what do we care about all the fighting and bloodshed and wrongs committed here, when there are much worse atrocities going on we can't change? What are we supposed to do?"

"Well we aren't supposed to just sit around and cry about it," Fox said. "We have to make the best of it, and win our own battles."

"But we've lost so many! So many we can't win! That is one of the greatest, if not _the _greatest problem we face."

"So you think you can do something about it?" Fox shot back.

Black didn't hesitate a moment. "Yes."

"And saving Krystal will solve everything?"

"In the long run." Fox rolled his eyes. "Look, there is a war coming, Fox; a war greater than the Lylat Wars, the Aparoid Invasion, or even _this _war! Someone else is seeking out the same solution I am, but not for the same purpose; they have a much, much darker purpose in mind. I _must _find the solution, or we are all doomed, in fact, _every _version of you, me, and the rest of the world will be doomed! That is my mission, my purpose. I have to save all of us."

"But for now, we have to save Krystal, is that it?"

Black's response was to reach into his cloak again, this time producing a ring. He set it down on the table, rolling it across the surface to Fox, who stopped it from falling. He raised it to his eyes; the ring was formed out of three gold bands that intertwined in a repeated pattern, forming the main body of the ring. Small jewels were studded on the bands, forming different patterns of constellations. As he examined the inside, he though he noticed an inscription, but he couldn't make it out in the low light. Some how, it looked familiar...

"You were meant to be together," Black finally answered.

"A wedding ring?" Fox asked. He didn't like the idea of some stranger telling him to marry the woman he loved, on top of giving him the ring to use. "I... I don't get it. Why do you care so much?"

"Krystal is a valuable asset to your team, Fox; you'll need her to defeat Andross. Besides that, you've become so attached to her that you almost can't live without her, correct?"

Fox reluctantly nodded.

"If she dies, you won't be able to carry on, and I'll need you in the future."

"But you have more reasons for doing this... I can feel it."

Black looked down, not willing to meet Fox's gaze. "Because I once loved her."

Fox was shocked; how could he have been close enough to love her? He didn't know of anyone else while she was with the team... it must have been before Krystal joined them...

"Cerenian?"

"No."

Fox was at a loss; his mind was racing from the events of the last five minutes. Who was Black? He would have to ask Krystal.

Almost as if he had read Fox's mind, he said, "Please, if we rescue Krystal... _when _we rescue Krystal, don't mention anything about me to her."

"You don't want to bring up bad memories?"

"No; because she wouldn't understand. In fact, she wouldn't remember me."

They sat in silence for a minute, Fox watching a sparkling tear slide down Black's mask.

"Look, I've rambled enough," Black said, breaking the silence. "It's time we get down to business and save Krystal." He scooted his chair in closer to the table, and leaned in. "So, Krystal was kidnapped by Andross, right?" Fox nodded. "Well he doesn't have her... _yet_. He turned her over to a dark cult group called the Catalysts... a group of which _I _am the head of."

"Then this should be easy; you could just order them to turn her over to me, right?"

"It's not as simple as that; the rest of my cult is loyal to darkness; if I order them to release Krystal, it will contradict what the group stands for; they will kill me, at the very least. I have to avoid them knowing I have any involvement with this rescue attempt."

"Then how can you help me?"

"I know the Catalysts' Sanctum like the back of my paw; I can hide in the shadows while you penetrate our monastery and rescue Krystal. I will guide you through the Sanctum, as well as giving you important instructions, warnings, and such."

"How many members in this cult am I going up against?"

"We have 99 acolytes, not counting me. All of them are highly trained warriors, well versed in the dark arts and combative arts."

Fox let out a low whistle. "This doesn't sound like a two man job, especially if you have to hide in the shadows."

"It's not," Black agreed, waving his paw forward. A young raven stepped out of the back corner of the room that was shrouded in inky blackness. He looked familiar...

"You're with Starwolf... aren't you?"

"Yes; we met on Fichina... though the circumstances were less than favorable. Name's Jet Raven. And everyone knows you're Fox McCloud."

"Uh, shouldn't you be defending Venom with Starwolf?"

"The attack hasn't started yet; I should have enough time to help rescue your teammate."

"Another question," Fox said, turning back to Black. "Why Jet? Not that I don't doubt his capabilities."

"Jet use to be an acolyte of mine; I found him one day on a little excursion. He was an orphan, so I took him in. The rest of the Catalysts suggested I train him in the ways of the cult, so I did, against my better judgment. There was something different about Jet, however. I couldn't bear to lead him into darkness... he was too young. As soon as I could, I arranged to sign him on with Starwolf, and after testing his abilities, they agreed to take him on. It wouldn't have been my first choice of a job for him, but it was the easiest way to get him out of the cult."

"In a way, Master Black has almost become like a father to me," Jet said. "In the few years I was with him."

"Another thing I don't get," Fox began. "Why did you start the cult?"

"In my line of business, I have to ask myself these questions; how far am I willing to go, to solve this epic quandary? How many wrongs make a right? Do the ends justify the means? I believe the cult is the only way... some day, you will understand, when it all comes together at the end. Let me put it this way... are you willing to _kill_ to _save_ a life?"

Fox had never thought about it before. Being a mercenary, he killed when he had to, most of the time without question. Usually, his enemies had warranted their deaths. In fact, all of them had; no one could call Fox unjust for his actions. Killing had been a part of his everyday life, especially during the last few wars. The first time he had killed... it was back when Starfox had been little more than a hired gang on Papetoon. He had killed a man in self defense, but he never forgot the look on his face when he died. Now, it had become almost natural, an unconscious act, even. How could he not kill?

"Yes," he answered.

"That's what I was looking for."

Jet stepped closer to the table, placing two gas masks on it, while he hung his own around his neck.

"What are these for?" Fox asked, curiously examining his mask.

"We're on Zoness, aren't we? You forgot to put a mask on when you came; it was a good thing you didn't stay outside too long."

Right. Zoness was at the bottom of the list on the terraforming company's agenda. They had already patched up the climate control center on Fichina, fixed Aquas several years ago, and were in the midst of purifying Venom; once they were done, they would move on to Zoness. It's air and water were still toxic after Andross polluted the planet almost beyond repair.

Black also took out Krystal's collapsed staff and wrist communicator, sliding them over to Fox.

"You got these from her?" he asked. "Did you see her? Was she fine?"

"Easy there, Fox. She's banged up pretty bad, but she'll make it; don't worry. Also, the staff may be your best weapon against the cult."

"Why?" Fox asked.

"They would be able to block your lasers with defensive spells, but, because of the magical nature of that staff, they would have a much harder time doing so." Fox slide the staff into his belt where he could easily grab it. Black got up as Jet opened the door behind him, and motioned for Fox to follow him. He lead Fox through a dark, musty warehouse until they came to a side door. Fox put his mask on, breathing through the two filters attached to the chin of the mask. The other two did the same. Jet opened the door, and they stepped outside.

**A/N: I'm beginning to think you're all dead... I would at least think getting Krystal kidnapped would get a few comments. Are any of you alive?**

**Nope, guess I was wrong. Thanks for replying!**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Sorry I took so long in posting this chapter, but I got my wisdom teeth out a few days ago, and wasn't up to writing... though maybe I should have; it would be funny seeing what I wrote when I was high on anesthesia.**

**Chapter 22: Scarred Planet**

I

At first the sunlight was blinding, but only because they had been in the perpetual darkness of the warehouse. As they stepped out into the alley, Fox shielded his eyes from the rays of sun that drifted through a hole in the thick layer of clouds that covered Zoness' sky.

Though dazzling at first, the effects quickly wore off, revealing the true nature of the city. Atorantisu was an artificial island that floated on the waves of the massive sea. Zoness had once been a thriving planet, as Aquas had been. In fact, the two planets bore many similarities; they were both covered in large amounts of water, with only a few islands here and there to inhabit. They also had both fallen victim to Andross's defiling of the Lylat system. While Aquas was only flooded by Andross, Zoness was much closer to Venom, which seemed to bleed over and infect it. As Fox examined the present state of Atorantisu, he realized some scars may never be healed.

The alley opened up into a dock that ran around the entire island city, and Fox was taken aback by the shear pollution that had ruined the planet. The sluggish waves were an unnatural, dark green color, toxic to most life forms, except the mutated creatures Andross engineered. A sickly colored fog drifted up from the sea, spilling into the city and permeating the alleys and streets. Fox was thankful he was wearing a gas mask this time around; a few hours earlier, when he first came, he was forced to cover his mouth and nose with his sleeve, but it wasn't the same. Perhaps that's why he had gotten knocked out so easily when he fell into Black's little trap.

_"__Sickening, isn't it?"_ Black said, as if he heard his name mentioned in Fox's head. His words came out of a radio piece at the base of his gas mask.

Fox merely nodded in agreement. They walked down the steel dock, the poisonous ocean on their left side, and the reeking city on their right. The docks were littered with trash that no one had bothered to clean up... for the last ten years since the Defiling.

_"They say," _Black continued, _"That the very kani they ate as a delicacy mutated into giant crabs that came back to eat _them_." _He couldn't help but let out a slight chuckle. _"It was a pity, too. Kani was pretty good back in the day... I haven't had any for years. Only the cheap artificial stuff that's made from fish from Aquas. It's just not the same."_

_"How could he do this?" _Fox wondered aloud. _"Just... ruin a whole __planet__ like this?"_

_"Some say he's mad," _Jet answered. _"Most do."_

_ "And then there are some who think there may be a method to his madness," _Black said.

_"What do you mean?" _Fox kicked a bunch of tin cans lying in his way, scattering them across the dock.

_ "It has been suggested that he was creating business for PSC, or the Planetary Shaping Company. They're the largest terraforming group, in fact, the _only_ terraforming group in the System. They've already fixed Aquas, and are in the middle of fixing up the once inhospitable Venom. And, once they do fix Zoness, other large corporations come in and take over all the smaller companies that use to exist here; they need loans to start, and find themselves relying on the bigger companies for start up money until they're in too much debt."_

_ "You sound like you know this for a fact," _Fox said, curious.

_"I do... I've seen it firsthand."_

_ "Still," _Jet spoke up, _"It seems like extreme means to absorb smaller companies and create __a__ market __for one company, no matter how large it is__."_

_ "My boy, It's all in the politics. It's a giant game where the people up top push the people down low in a fight for power; the government on one side, the mega corporations on the other, and the people are just squashed between the two, without so much as a cry of help; there's no way either of them are going to let the people rise, not when they can keep a third competitor out." _

Fox almost spat at the mention of politics, but it would have been a mistake; he was wearing a gas mask. He'd had enough run-ins with the Cornerian Government in his past missions, and more recently, mega corporations were getting on his nerve, too. At times, it seemed like Corneria's Government was just a puppet on strings, dancing for the pleasure of the wealthiest.

_"Is this the world you're fighting for, Fox?" _Black's question was unexpected... but then again, most of his were.

_"No." _It was a short answer, but he was never so sure about his reply as he was now. Black next turned his head to Jet, who was staring at the filthy pavement below them.

_"I can't say I ever liked the world; it took my family away from me. And then the dang PSC never got around to renewing this __planet__, so I've basically lived in Hell all my life. Sometimes I'm not sure why I'm even fighting..."_

_ "Well, I know one thing," _Fox began. _"I much rather be living in this messed-world than Andross's one. I guess you can say I'm choosing the best of two evils." _As a pause of silence followed, they passed under a rust covered loading crane, its extended chain forlornly creaking in the slight sea breeze.

_"__Hey, uh... shouldn't you be telling me some more about this whole mess we're in?" _Fox asked.

_"Hm?" _Black seemed to be lost in thoughts. _"Oh, yah, of course. We'll have another question and answer session, if you like, but this time there are no limits. Shoot."_

_"__I still don't know what they want with Krystal."_

_ "It's kind-of complicated, but they need her for a ritual... a test run, if you like."_

_ "A test run? For what?"_

_ "We call it a _transmigration_."_

_ "Well whatever it is, it doesn't sound good."_

_ "It's not..."_

I

Krystal woke up for the second time that day.

How had she fallen asleep? She couldn't remember. She had woken up to a horrible nightmare, a shadowy temple that seemed so empty and hollow, and yet... so full of a dark presence she couldn't identify. And then... she had slipped off again; she didn't know if it was from pain or weariness, but, besides her numerous wounds, she felt better now. She possessed her full conscience, and her thoughts were drifting off to what every prisoner thinks about at one point:

Escape.

She got to a kneeling position, her joints aching as she did so; sleeping on a stone table does that to people. She lifted both of her wrists, stretching the chains attached to them to their full extent. Beyond that point, they wouldn't budge an inch. As the manacles became progressively heavier the longer she raised her arms, she quickly dropped them to her side, letting out a slight groan. She obviously couldn't use brute force, especially in her present condition. Maybe there was something near by she could use.

She began groping around in the darkness, feeling all around to the edges of the stone table, but no objects were in reach. As sight, hearing, and touch failed her, she decided to use one more sense most people couldn't; the sixth sense.

She closed her eyes, calming herself down til she felt as tranquilly peaceful as she could in an ominous temple, and used her telepathic abilities to comb the area. She extended her conscience outward, around her in every direction. She could feel the very fabric of matter her surroundings were made of, the way the little light there was sparkled into the room, the way the mysterious fog caressed the cement floor underneath, the small piles of lint and rubble scattered throughout the room, and even the fellow consciences of the creeping insects in the darkness.

But that was it. She knew her surroundings well, even knew where exits were, but they were of no use to her in her present situation. Shy opened her eyes again, turning off her telepathic abilities. Darkness again. A hard fact.

It didn't make sense to her. Why wasn't she on some cruiser that was taking her to Andross's lair? Why this dark, awful place? Was she a hostage? Were they using her as leverage to control Fox?

There he was again; her thoughts always lead back to him, no matter what she though about, and for how long; eventually, it all came back to him. _What he must be feeling now... _

Only a few years ago, Fox had made her quit the team for her own safety, because he couldn't bear to have her die; he loved her. Of course she didn't understand why he forced her off the team, not then. She left him, then and there, in a fit of anger and despair. It took the whole Anglar Blitz to bring them back together, but it was worth it. Those few years when she was alone had been the worst of her life, and Fox's, too. Nothing should separate them, ever. She couldn't bear it either.

Yet it was happening again; they _were_ separated. By how much, she didn't know. They may never see each other again. A tear trickled its way down her cheek as the thought hit her.

But at the same time, she knew it wasn't the same; the first time she was gone, Fox had looked for her, and would have found her if Krystal hadn't continued to run from him. This time, she wasn't hiding from him, or running; it would be much easier for him to find her. She let a small smile grace her lips.

Suddenly, there was metallic grating noise as a hole was opened directly above her, and a blinding shaft of light came through, illuminating the stone table underneath the hole and the dusty fog in between.

_What now? _She thought. _Are they finally going to speak to me? Feed me? Fix my wounds? _It was very unlikely. But the shaft brought a new possibility with it; she could now see more of her surroundings. She should have been able to sense everything with her mind, but something told her to keep looking. As she stared at one of the walls in front of her, she noticed something different, something she hadn't picked up before. She thought that wall had collapsed, and piled up oddly shaped bits of rubble in front of it, but it was much more than a collapsed wall. She could make out a strange form that reflected the light as if it were polished steal. Using her sixth sense again, she reached out to the form. It was large, _very _large; so giant that it stood a hundred feet up to the top of the vaulted ceiling, almost. It was insectoid, with numerous claws, pinchers, legs, segments, mouths, and eyes.

When she realized what it was, she let out a quick scream, but she next realized she had nothing to worry about; it was dead. The monster was dead.

Or was it?

Krystal began to panic like a rat in a cage.

I

_"__So... what is a transmigration, and what do they need Krystal for?"_

_ "__Transmigration is basically refilling a body with a soul, not always its original soul, as in this case."_

_ "Are you resurrecting a dead member, or, something?"_

_ "No, we don't care enough about each other to do that."_

Fox smirked at Black's remark. _"One happy family, eh?"_

_ "You're telling me." _Black chuckled, but his laugh soon turned into a fit of coughs that racked his body, muffled by his gas mask. Black fell to his knees, and Jet quickly rushed to his side, cursing.

_"It's happening again. Here, Fox, help me with him! Let's get him into this building right here!"_

Fox complied, grabbing Black's other shoulder as they helped him into an abandoned sushi restaurant, a staple of the oriental tropic planet. Once inside, they propped him up against a wall, and Jet took off Black's and his own mask.

_"What's happening? What's wrong with him?" _Fox asked, urgently.

"He has a unique disease that infects his blood," Jet explained, his voice normal now that he had taken his mask off. Fishing around in Black's jacket, he continued, "The disease is deadly, and would kill him if it took over too many of his normal blood cells. Right now, the infection level is pretty high; that's why he's having this fit."

_ "Does he have the __antidote__ with him? __What is it?"_

"The only thing that works," Jet pulled out a strange medical-looking device composed of two needles, a long tube, and a fist pump, "Is to replace his current, poisoned blood with uninfected blood. But, I don't have the same blood type as he does, and I'm not sure if you do, either."

"He... does..." Black managed to spit out through his coughs.

"But... how do you know?" Fox asked.

"I JUST KNOW! OK! SHUT UP ANG GET ON WITH IT!" his coughing subsided to a slight wheezing as he grasped the leg of a table nearby.

Jet unfurled the medical cord, handing one end of it to Fox, while he rolled up one of Black's sleeves and stuck the other end in his arm. Fox looked down at the needle in his hands. What the heck was he doing? He was giving blood to a dying stranger he didn't even know. It seemed wrong, twisted, somehow. Whatever. It was all for Krystal. He pulled his own mask off before he gritted his teeth and plunged the end into a vein on his own elbow. He never was a fan of needles. When Jet saw they were both ready, he began working the pump. A thin, dark stream of blood slowly worked it's way through the transparent tube, and into Black's arm. When a tense minute had gone by, Jet stopped pumping and removed the needles from their arms.

Fox rubbed his elbow; it was sore from the needle, and he felt a bit woozy. How much blood had he given? He hoped he would be up to the rescue attempt.

"Thank you," Black gasped, letting his sleeve fall back into place. "You'd be surprised at how many people are adverse to sharing their blood. But you can look at it like this; it's like a blood donating program, except the middle man is cut out."

"You feeling better now?" Jet asked.

"Yah, I think I can stand." With a little help from Fox and Jet, he came to his feet, and found that he was easily able to support himself. "Well, time to put these things back on so we can get a move on again, shall we?" He lifted his gas mask back up to his face, and the others did the same. They stepped out of the dark restaurant and continued their walk down the harbor.

_"Your life must really suck, having that disease," _Fox said.

_"Yah, it does. The attacks are a bit unpredictable, but every time it happens, I need more clean blood. Almost like a vampire, in a way. As close as you can get to a vampire. Normally, I have my acolytes around when the attacks happen, or a container of blood when I go out of the Sanctum for a little excursion. I ran out recently. But it's a good thing you were around when this attack happened."_

Fox was suddenly worried. _"Is the disease contagious?" _He had basically exposed himself to Black's blood in the transfer.

_"I've been doing this for several years, and there's no sign of it being contagious among you're kind."_

_ "__Uh... our kind__?"_

Black paused like he always did when he had to hide something from Fox, who was use to it now. _"__I come from another system with different species than are here in the Lylat. They aren't as immune to the disease as you are. __"_

_ "And there are foxes where you come from? In your own system?"_

_ "Yes."_

_ "But how is that possible? There's no way foxes could evolve in two different places and be exactly the same!"_

_ "Hey, I'm black, aren't I?" _Fox gave a little smile. _"And Krystal's blue. You're from Papetoon, she's from Cerenia, and I'm from God knows where. Somehow, it happens. Hey, don't take too much away from what I said, Ok?"_

They walked on in silence for a few minutes, with nothing but the sound of the toxic waves lapping against the dock and an occasional z-gull calling. Soon, Fox's thoughts drifted back to their interrupted conversation.

_"__W__hat _are_ you resurrecting?"_

It took Black a minute to connect the question with their earlier conversation._"A monster; one that mutated from some aquatic crustacean as a result of Zoness' toxicity."_

_ "And Krystal?"_

_ "They need a host for __the __spirit they are refilling the dead body with; Krystal will act as a sort of go-between."_

_ "But why her? Why not some random hobo off the streets? Especially if Andross ordered her taken to his Anomaly?"_

Black paused again, choosing his words carefully. _"__Her telep__athic__ abilities and Cerenian decent make her quite the host."_

_ "And you'll need another Cerenian for the second time? The future transmigration you're preparing for?"_

_ "You're too smart for your own good, you know that?" _

Fox smiled again at Black's response.

I

"Major Ironstripe?" Falco hailed the leader of the Cornerian forces over Aquas through the Great Fox's comm system. They were preparing to leave the planet, but needed to check in with the commander, first.

_"Yes, Starfox; what do you want?"_ Ironstripe's voice came over the radio. Though he had quickly risen to the rank of major in his outstanding military career, there were several problems he still needed to deal with; learning the correct military jargon was one of them. But definitely at the top of the list was anger management, and under that, letting his inferiors do their jobs instead of doing everything himself. Falco wasn't bothered at all; he liked the major for it.

"We uh... ran into a little trouble."

_"Oh? Like what?"_

"It's a bit personal, Major, but pretty important. We need to leave for a while on a private mission." The team didn't want the CDF freaking out because Fox and Krystal were missing, so they decided not to tell them.

_"I'm afraid that's impossible; __General__Snow is engaging the enemy at Fortuna, and he might need your assistance soon."_

"What!? Can't he just handle the attack on his – " But Katt clamped Falco's beak shut with her paw, silencing him.

"Major, can you patch us through to General Snow? We'd like to get his word on this."

Major Ironstripe let out an audible sigh, then said, _"Alright, but I can't promise you'll get anywhere with him. I'm contacting him now." _As soon as they were patched through to Fortuna, General Snow appeared on their holoprojector, in Ironstripe's place.

He was an owl covered in a thick plumage of bleach-white feathers, a sharp, golden beak protruding from his head, and two amber colored eyes that always appear to be squinting.

_"__Greatings, Starfox. To what may I owe the occasion?" _His voice sounded a bit blustery, but with a commanding and confident element that let people know he was a general by just listening to him. _"Oh, and where's McCloud? I can't see him in this screen."_

Falco scratched the back of his head nervously. "Uh, yah, heh heh. He's uh... in the bathroom, or, something."

General Snow raised an eyebrow so that one of his eyes poked all the way through, giving Falco a suspicious look. Falco quickly broke his gaze and turned to Katt, unsure of what to do.

"Uh, general, sir," Katt hesitantly began. "We have some private matters we need to take care of, and it may be awhile before we get back into the war again. We were wondering... may we be dismissed for now?"

_"I'm terribly sorry, but we must have you on standby in case Fortuna is overrun by the enemy. It would be too risky, letting you go trouncing around the solar system."_

"But General, this is important!"

_"That remains to be seen. Now tell me, why is it so important that you go gallivanting across space just to tie up some loose ends?" _

The team exchanged glances, and nodded to each other.

"Look, General," Falco began. "the reason why our little side mission is so important is because... we lost two of our teammates."

_"Oh, I see..." _Snow scratched his chin feathers. _"Who are they?"_

"Uh... Fox was... one of them."

_"FOX!? You aren't pulling my leg, are you?"_

"Dead serious, General. But hey, don't sweat it! We have a lead on his location."  
_"Oh? Where?"_

"It appears that he went to Zoness."  
_"Is he MAD!? Of all places... Zoness!? That's the second most dangerous place __in the System __he could be right now! An _entire_enemy __fleet is circling the planet, waiting for __Andross to give them an__ order! If you go there, they will surely shoot you down faster than you can blink! It's suicide!"_

"Sorry, General, that's the chance we have to take with Fox's life on the line."

_"Alright... since he _is_ the leader of your team, you might as well go rescue him."_

"Starfox just wouldn't be the same without him, would it?"

_"It's settled then; I __temporarily __release you from – " _

Suddenly, the projector and radio erupted in static, garbling Snow's figure and voice.

"ROB, what's going on?" Slippy asked, rushing to the monitor.

"General Snow's signal has been compromised; it is being overwritten by a new message."

Sure enough, the hologram pixels realigned themselves into the shape of a well rounded panda bear, sitting on a plush couch.

_"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Did I hear something about McCloud going AWOL? That would be a pity, really..."_

"What do you want, Pandafeller?" Falco said with a strong hint of annoyance in his voice. He leaned against a wall, crossing his wings in defiance.

_"Oh, I'm pleased you remember me; I must have left a __memorable __impression after I tricked yo__u__ into that little trap of mine. __I just wanted to give you a little advice;__ it would be very bad for your health, reputation, and honor to go after you__r __teammates."_  
"Listen, you fat slob of a bear; we already got permission from General Snow, so buzz off!"

_"Hm, a bit touchy, __you lot__. General Snow has no say in the matter as long as the Cornerian Court rules otherwise; you see, you aren't just private mercenaries working for the military anymore; you are international heroes, as much as I hate to admit it. You have become too big of a resource for the CDF to control __a__lone__, so you have become a matter of the State of Corneria."_

"So how are you gonna stop us? Get all of your little cronies together and take the matter to court?"

_"Precisely. But they aren't _my _cronies__, you see; they are colleagues; equals. I'm just a mouth piece, you know. It would be hilarious if you thought that I was behind this whole thing; If I was, I wouldn't be stupid enough to contact you personally__and __set up that trap. But as I was saying, you are not allowed to desert __the army and go __to Zoness."_

"Look, Pandafool, or what ever your name is," Steam was practically spilling from Katt's ears. "Once we're done with Andross, mark my words, we're coming for you!"

_"May I remind you, we control more strings in th__is__ system than anyone ever has; we can stalk you by night, hunt you by day, __hinder your way with__ as much red tape as we want, and __shame __the rest __of __your career __with scandal__. __You have no idea how hilarious your claim is; you can never hope to root us out or the world, not when we control this much. But i__f you desert now, your actions will label you as __enemies to not only the Cornerian Government, but to all of Lylat. This, on top of the scandal with the Chancellor, will surely land you in a tight spot."_

"You know what?" Falco left his position against the wall and walked to the monitor. "I've heard just about all I can take from you!" He slammed his fist down on the end connection button, and the message immediately stopped.

"So..." Slippy began. "I guess we're going after Fox?"

Falco gave him a strange look that said, 'would we do anything else?'

**A/N: Also, to the anonymous reviewer who thought last chapter smelled like Bioshock, you are right, it does. Since I can't pm you, I'll just reply right here. I actually didn't get the idea from Bioshock, I just love mind-blowing concepts like the multiverse, and because I love the multiverse, I loved Bioshock Infinite when it came along. In fact, the coordinates on Zoness are actually a reference to the coordinates of Rapture from the first and second games. I also heard that if you plug the coordinates into Google Earth, Rapture actually comes up! Anyway, loved Bioshock with the alternate history, multiverse and all, but I wasn't satisfied with Infinite's ending; it didn't really solve anything. Black is going to try a different way, and hopefully, it works. But Black doesn't play _that _big of a part in this story; he's more of a major character in the next. Hmm? What? Did I say _n__ext story_? Shhh!**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: The Catalyst Cult and the Sanctum in these next two chapters is inspired by Linkin Park's music video to "One Step Closer." If you're a Linkin Park fan, or just like hard rock, I suggest you watch the video; since a picture is worth a thousand words, how much more is a video? Anyway, it sets the scene perfectly.**

**Chapter 23: Into the Sanctum**

I

As the odd trio came up on another alley embedded in the city of Atorantisu, Black suddenly motioned for Jet and Fox to be silent. He didn't need to; they had been as quiet as statues for the past five minutes. They crept up to the corner of the building, pressing themselves against the grimy wall. Black seemed to concentrate for a few seconds, then he visibly relaxed.

_"It's alright," _his slightly garbled voice came through his mouthpiece._ "__T__here are no sentries present." _

He led Fox and Jet down the alley, sending swirls of green fog dancing across the street, and lapping at the walls. Their shoes made small splashes in a thin puddle of water that reflected the sides of the buildings pressing down on either side of them.

_"Why don't they have a sentry posted?"_ Fox asked, a bit worried by the fact.

_"Why would they?" _Black answered, coughing a bit as he did so._"You _should _have no way of knowing where they are, and no one else would, either. __On top of that, i__f you haven't noticed, a large Androssian patrol has been circling the planet ever so often, with a whole fleet docked at the capital only a hundred miles from here. And even if you did know where to look for them, _and _were able to sneak by the patrol fleet, you wouldn't be able to open the secret door. Only a member who knows the right spell can."_

_ "And... wouldn't they be suspicious when I get in? Wouldn't they know __someone from the inside_ _helped me?"_

_ "This is another reason we have Jet; __they'll think he does all the magic."_

Black halted about halfway down the trash littered alley, placing his palms on the brick surface of one of the walls. He seemed to be whispering something under his breath, which Fox assumed was the entry spell. The wall shimmered for a second, then began to flow like liquid outwards till a round hole about seven feet in diameter formed in the space it had left. Fox found himself gawking at the spectacle before him, even though he had seen actual magic before this on his little adventure in Sauria, where he had gotten quite familiar with the concept. Black waved his hand for Fox and Jet to follow him into the dark hole he had opened into the Sanctum.

Before he entered the hole, Fox asked, _"Wait a minute... shouldn't we go over a plan, or... __something?"_

Black turned around to face him. _"Fox, how many times have you __ever really__ used a plan?"_

Fox smiled, guiltily. _"You're right, I'm never the one for plans, really – wait a sec, __we had__ a plan for the attack on Sector Y a week __ago__."_

_ "Ok, but besides that, have you ever had a plan?"_

_ "Nothing's coming to mind, no."_

_ "Then we'll be fine."_

_ "But this is different! Krystal's life is on the line here!"_

Black sighed, taking off his gas mask just inside the Sanctum, though his face was still covered by his masquerade mask. "Alright, Fox. Come inside, and we'll discuss what little of a plan we'll need."

Fox hesitantly stepped in through the strange hole Black had opened in the alley wall, followed by Jet. Black waved his hand, the gesture seeming to close the door behind them, cutting off the hazy light that was filling the interior. They both removed their gas masks, Fox breathing in deeply immediately after he did so. The effect wasn't what he expected; the air smelled musty and rather foul, not much better than outside. The Sanctum was also a lot cooler than the outside heat of Zoness, and Fox shivered a bit at first. He narrowed his eyes, peering at the same green fog swirling at their feet that had been outside.

"Is the air safe? The gas seems to be in here as well."

Black kicked his boot around, sending whirling eddies throughout the fog. "All the air inside the Sanctum is filtered, though the system isn't perfect. A bit of the gas gets in, but unless you're lying prone on the ground, you won't breathe any of it."

Fox looked around some more at the room they were in; it was only about fifteen feet across and seven feet high; he was tempted to crouch down a bit to keep from hitting his head, though there was no danger of it. The walls were blackened concrete, and slightly cracked from age. The only light in the room was the eerie green glow that lit the fog at their feet. Fox had to search a moment to find its source; small led lights at the base of the walls meant to provide minimal light for guiding occupants.

"Alright; tell me everything I should know about the Sanctum."

"The short version? Or the long version?"

"The short version; I don't want to keep Krystal waiting."

"Ok, the short version. I won't tell you the history of the Sanctum; how it came to be and all, unless we have some spare time. But the Sanctum is a large complex built into the very foundation of Atorantisu. Describing the arrangement of all the rooms is like trying to describe the Labyrinth. Basically impossible, without the actual blueprints of the thing. Oh, wait... I have them right here. This might be helpful..." He pulled out a small holocron device and turned it on, projecting a small menu that hovered a few inches in the air. He quickly flipped through a few pages and menus until he opened a large holographic 3-D map of the Sanctum; the rooms were outlined in a faint blue light, while the rest of the image, the edges of the adjacent dock and the buildings above it, were colored a dull grey. He pointed to a small room at the top. "The entrance, where we are, is right here. The Sanctuary, where Krystal is, is right here." He next pointed to a large atrium-looking room that lay near the bottom of the Sanctum and touched the edge of the floating city. "This is where we need to get to." Black touched both of the rooms, and several paths were instantly highlighted in red that connected the two. "There are many paths we could take, and we won't decide on one now; we'll do that on the run and improvise to avoid causing any unwanted confrontations before we find Krystal."

"So this is a stealth mission." It was more of a statement then it was a question. "But you were able to sense that no one was present when we first came in here. Won't the rest of the Catalysts be able to sense us?"

"Don't worry; I have already performed the necessary spells to hide our presence; they won't notice us until we come into direct contact with them."

"But what if they see you?" Jet asked.

"They won't." Black swirled the folds of his cloak around himself, and he suddenly vanished from sight. _"I've become invisible," _a voice said in Fox's head, as if Black's thoughts were carrying over into Fox's mind, much like Krystal's own thoughts could. _"I'll talk to you telepathically." _

"This plan is getting better and better," Fox said, grinning as he reached out and felt Black's invisible cloak in the darkness.

_"If we get in a tight spot, you and Jet will have to do most of the fighting, as I can't make my presence known to them. Be warned; they can use every magical trick in the book. I'll keep you safe from any direct spells they make to your person, for example, if they tried to blind you or something."_

"Magic is so awesome," Fox said.

"You haven't seen anything yet," Jet replied, drawing his two blasters and spinning them on the tips of his feathers expertly.

_"Actually, you have, if I'm not mistaken, come in contact with magic before... Sauria, I believe."_

"Right; It's actually nothing new to me, it's just been awhile since I had to use any magic."

_"But you've never performed any spells yourself, have you?"_

"Well, no, I've only used Krystal's staff on Sauria. Is it the same type of magic as you use?"

_"No; ours is a darker magic. I don't know enough about the Krazoa; they seem to be a form of __animal that transcended into the spiritual world almost completely__. I may do a bit of research in the __future, if I have some spare time. I may return to Sauria again."_

"Wait, you've been there before?"

_"Uh... yes, I have, though the visit wasn't as long __lasting __as I now wish it had been. But we are digressing here. We shouldn't waste any more time; we must go deeper into the Sanctum. I'll be behind you most of the time so you don't accidentally bump into me." _

Jet gestured with a wing for Fox to follow him, and they started off on the rescue.

I

Just outside of Zoness' atmosphere, a small ship came out of hyperspace. A few weeks ago, less than a handful of people could actually tell you what the ship was. Most people didn't even know one existed. But at present, the ship had a well known reputation; a reputation gained in only a month; now anyone could tell you what the ship was.

An Arwing 3.0.

With a well trained eye, someone could even tell who was piloting the ship by the blue falcon emblem painted on the sides.

It was too risky to bring the Great Fox along with him; the massive dreadnaught would easily be spotted by the Androssian scouting parties circling the planet. A small ship such as the Arwing would be hard to spot, especially if it carried a cloaking device. Beltino had advised him to barrow one such device from a Cornerian Scout fighter... though Falco thought 'stealing' was a better word for it. Whatever. They had left a note so that the scout wouldn't try sneaking into Androssian territory only to realize he was visible on radar. That would be embarrassing.

But all that was in the past, and as long as it was for Fox and Krystal, it was worth it.

When he first laid eyes on the defiled planet, Falco felt his heart wrench in his chest. Zoness was his home world; he grew up in the once sub-tropical planet, calling it home for most of his life. Seeing the planet again hit him with a wave of memories that caused him to lose focus and act carelessly. He couldn't help watching his past fly by his eyes once again.

He left his house pretty early on in his life, taking to the streets where the local gangs became his family. Soon he garnered a name for himself and became the head of his own gang, the Hot-Rodders, and they frequented the streets of cities such as the one he was headed to now.

But even then something didn't feel right; he never liked staying in one place or with the same people for long. He was always the loner, the wanderer, and in some cases, the outcast. Restless was the word for him. Never sure of his future, never sure of what he wanted to become; he was always on the move. He left his family, moved from gang to gang until he decided to make his own group, but it still didn't satisfy him. He had to keep moving, he had to get away from everything. He wasn't going to get anywhere in a gang, leastwise, not off of Zoness.

And then the solution hit him; become a pilot.

It was perfect. He could fly anywhere he wanted, he could be across the galaxy in a heartbeat, and even go exploring into the far reaches of space once he earned his license. As soon as he could, he booked a flight off of Zoness to Corneria, where he joined the Cornerian Flight Academy at the age of fifteen. Quickly rising to the most skilled of pilots, he was able to train along side of Fox McCloud. They began hanging out at social events, along with Fox's friend Slippy Toad, just because they were at the same level. Falco never understood why Fox let himself be caught dead with Slippy, something he would never understand for a long time; friendship. After awhile, they became more than mere jocks forced to hang out because of the social food chain; they became rivals. Fortunately, Falco was a little too competitive, and actually shot Fox down in a mock combat; he had to go to the hospital.

I say fortunately because the event lead to a great friendship. Falco visited Fox in the hospital, and they got to know each other a lot better. Then, when Fox learned of his dad's death at the hands of Andross, Falco and Slippy took it upon themselves to cheer him up. Falco, the master of finding solutions, suggested they form a private mercenary team and get revenge instead of staying in the military where they were constrained by the chain of command.

It worked out well; they killed Andross... _Oh, wait, _he thought. _We didn't really; he's still alive._ Anyway, they _thought _they had killed him. Once the rest of the Venomian army collapsed without the mastermind who carried them on his shoulders the whole way, the mercenary business ran dry; no one to shoot the crud out of for a justifiable reason. Once again, Falco found himself feeling restless again. Like he left his family, like he left gang after gang, he left the team. Aimlessly drifting from job to job, he eventually found himself back with Starfox _and _the Hot Rodders at the same time from a series of events he still didn't understand. After they pulled off the job, they all went their separate ways again, but the encounter set Falco's mind spinning; after much internal debate, he decided he should quit avoiding it and commit to his friends.

He rejoined Starfox.

Here Falco shook himself to bring his mind back to the present. His Arwing broke through a large layer of sickly colored cloud to find the city of Atorantisu beneath him. The once beautiful floating city... reduced to a stinking, poison-infested junk yard in the span of a few years. He couldn't help shedding a tear; Zoness should never have been like this. Where had his once tropical home world gone? Surely this wasn't it.

But it was; Zoness was his home. There was no denying that. No matter how much mud and toxin Andross dumped on it, he couldn't change the memories people had of it.

Falco kept telling himself Zoness would be back to normal some day; once the terraformers got around to it.

As he got closer and closer to the city's skyline, he glanced down at the large screen spread across his dashboard, checking the two sets of coordinates displayed; one set remained the same, while the other set rapidly changed as he sped along in his Arwing; they almost matched. After quickly pressing a few key on the large touchscreen, a holographic reticule rose into the air, indicating a warehouse beside the city's dock. _Don't worry, Fox __ol__' buddy; we're comin'. _

"Approaching coordinates now," Falco reported back to the Great Fox through his Arwing 3.0's radio. "Looks like a warehouse."

_"__Great," _Amanda's slightly garbled but unstoppably cheerful voice replied from the Great Fox. _"Land a safe distance away, then see if Fox or his captors are inside. But remember, stealth is key. Don't go running in there guns ablazin__'__ if you don't have to."_

"Don't worry about it," Falco replied in his trademark cocky voice. "I'll find him; you just sit tight."

His attitude was something he developed years ago in his gang days. Because he was never sure of his future, his relationships, or his life, he was as positive and confident as he could be with everything else. Really, in the past, his attitude was just a front; if he could convince others he was confident, he could convince himself he was confident. It was for his own sake he adopted the attitude.

He was never confident about _anything_ during those years.

But when he finally found a home with Starfox he hoped would last until his death, he found with it an actual foundation upon which to base his confidence. It was no longer a front; he had something to be confident about.

With a well trained eye, Falco picked out a wide, seemingly abandoned street a cautious distance from the warehouse. He started his landing process; the forward thrusters were cut off, and the g-diffuser system kicked in, softening his descent. As it neared the ground, the six wings combined again and the landing gear unfolded, propping his ship up as it nestled into the ground. He cut the main power, deactivating the ship's systems. Remembering to protect his lungs from the poisonous air, he placed a space helmet over his head, breathing from a handy filtration system installed in it. He hit the button that opened the cockpit; the sleek windshield slowly raised to open the interior to the outside air.

He jumped up onto the streamlined nose of his ship, setting on foot in front of the other and leaning on his knee a bit, surveying the street. A few gang members had perked up at the sight of a star-fighter, emerging from the shadows to take a look, but also to see if the pilot was a potential threat to their territory.

Falco slowly turned his head so that he was able to give each and every member an expert look he had mastered during his years with the Hot-Rodders; it said 'stay back,' 'don't mess with me,' 'I'm not afraid of you,' 'I'm not looking for a fight,' and 'if you scratch my ship, you won't even remember it or even your name when I'm done with you,' all at the same time. Seriously, with this one look he developed, he went places in the gang world, and even with the hotshots back at the academy.

Everyone in the gang surrounding him was wearing some form of a medical mask, which provided minimal protection from the poisonous gases that infested the city. Falco knew it couldn't be healthy. Maybe their bodies were slowly adapting to the horrible conditions on Zoness. Either way, it took guts to stay on a toxic planet you called home, something Falco knew he would never have done if he stayed with his gang. He admired them for it, so he gave them a little nod. He slid down the side of his arwing, then fell the remaining few feet to the ground where he bent over a bit to absorb the fall. A sudden fit of charity struck Falco at seeing the gang's condition. He reached into his jacket's pocket, pulling out a roll of Lylatan credits. He tossed the money to the one he easily picked out as the leader of the gang.

_"Watch my ship," _was all Falco said as he passed the leader, without even turning his head to look. The leader casually looked down at the roll of bills in his hand, eventually pocketing it. He nodded to his fellows, and they ambled over, closer to the ship.

As he turned off the main street and down an alley, Falco took a moment to peer through the dirt and grime that covered the buildings, and eventually he recognized the street from years ago. Not wasting any more time, he slipped into the alley and casually walked the length of it, hands stuffed in his pockets. Near the opposite end, he stopped at a large door that lead into the warehouse where Fox had been told to go. He didn't know it, but it was the very alley Fox, Black, and Jet had stepped out onto only a few hours ago.

He raised his wrist closer to his face, keying in a few commands on the comm, then running a scan on the warehouse. The results indicated no life forms were present, but Falco knew better; the captors could be cloaking themselves.

_Well, _he thought to himself. _Here goes nothin'._ And with that, he kicked the door in, diving in a mere split second after it. He rolled once on the floor, coming up into a kneeling position, blaster raised in one hand, his energy deflector in the other.

"Alright, HANDS UP!" he commanded to anyone present. He quickly scanned the warehouse's interior.

No one was there.

A bit disappointed, he holstered his blaster and clipped the deflector back onto his belt.

"Falco reporting again," he spoke into his wrist comm.

_"How close are you to the warehouse?" _Amanda asked.

"Inside it, actually." Falco began checking every door in the warehouse to see if the captors were hiding behind them.

_"Oh, good. Is anyone there?"_

"Empty as Andross's funeral. No one in sight."

_"They must have __gotten wise__ to us." _It was Katt's turn to speak, and Falco felt himself brightening up already at the sound of her voice. _"As soon as they captured him, they probably __high-tailed it __to another side of the city. Beltino tells us there haven't been any aerial or aquatic activity for the past several hours, so they must still be in Atorantisu."_

"Do you have any ideas as to where they could have gone?" Falco opened the last door, again, turning up empty. "I think you know the city better than I do." Katt, unlike Falco, had stayed with the Hot-Rodders most of her life, except for a few years in which she trained to become a pilot, among a few other excursions.

_"The only place they could have gone would be another warehouse. Beyond that, I'm at a loss."_

Amanda's voice came on again. _"If they haven't been smart enough to deactivate Fox or Krystal's wrist comm__'s__ homing beacon, you should be able to find them if you get within range; you only have to be a mile away for it to show up on your radar."_

"So you want me to go on a giant manhunt through Atorantisu by myself? It could take days."

_"No, can't we all take part in the search?" _Katt said.

"I thought you'd never ask," Falco replied, grinning.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: Man, it's taken me forever to get to this part, but it's finally here;**

**Chapter 24: Reunion**

I

As they delved deeper and deeper into the Sanctum's recesses, Fox felt a chill slowly develop in his spine, a foreboding feeling he couldn't shake off. It was as close to Krystal's sixth sense as he would ever get. But perhaps it wasn't a wariness of the near future that made him feel tense; it could have been the dark nature and atmosphere of the cult's haven. He didn't know exactly what went on inside these walls, but he had a suspicious idea, and it was enough to freak him out. The old, cracking cement walls were covered in black ash, probably from candles or incense the cult burned. The unceasing green fog swirled about on the cold floor, illuminated by the path guiding lights at the bases of the walls. In addition, strange designs were seared or branded into the walls. Though he couldn't make sense of them, their very shape was enough to convey a dark sensation. But there was something else, something he couldn't put his finger on. A shadow seemed it lurk somewhere in the maze of rooms they were going deeper and deeper into, something Fox had never felt the likes of before. A dark presence was waiting at the far edge of his consciousness, just out of reach of his thoughts, though close enough so he could feel it. Close enough so it could scare him.

But Fox wouldn't let it.

He and Jet were walking along the hallways as silently as possible. Black was behind them somewhere, almost as invisible and nonexistent as a ghost. Occasionally, when they came to a split in the hallways of the Sanctum, Black communicated with them telepathically, directing them left, right, or wherever. They had gone on like this for the past ten minutes, though it felt like an eternity.

Suddenly, as they turned down another passageway, _B__ack, back! _Black's voice urged in their minds. _There are acolytes walking this way!_

Fox and Jet immediately back paddled the way they had come, turning down a different path and rushing onwards. Fox charged on ahead, leading the way as their adrenaline began pumping. He was the first one to enter the next room, a large square with four arched doors at each side. The floor felt rather flimsy underneath him, and when he looked down, he realized it was made out of rusted grating; he could see the same glowing fog in the room below them. He also thought he could make out hooded figures in the room underneath gathered about in a wide circle.

_Fox, step back towards the walls; the ground is more stable there. If you're not careful, you'll fall through – "_ But Black's warning came to late. The rusted grating cracked under Fox's feet, splitting apart so that he fell into the room below them. He managed to land in a dignified manner, however, falling to kneeling position and pressing his fist into the ground for support. His head was looking downwards still, and he was afraid to look up at the enemies surrounding him. He heard Jet drop to the ground behind him, and, glancing back, he saw he was also in a crouching position. Fox slowly looked up at his surroundings.

They had fallen into a ring of acolytes, forming a circle around them. Their black cloaks were lit by the bright glow of an entire army of candles set up on stepped tables behind them that also circled the entire way around the large, octagonal room. Fox and Jet stood to their feet, pressing their backs against each other. Jet drew his two blasters while Fox unsheathed Krystal's staff, ready to fight the acolytes, though unsure of their next course of action. He and Jet were breathing hard, and Fox felt sweat beading on his face. He didn't know where Black was.

The Catalysts shrugged off their black robes, revealing crimson red attire and many faces of various species all painted black, except for their contours, which where highlighted with white. Their eyes remained closed. They slowly opened their paws, and various types of weapons rose into their grasp. Other than that, they appeared to be unnervingly calm, in stark contrast to the adrenaline racing in Fox and Jet's veins. They were toying with them, instilling fear in their minds.

The stalemate was becoming unbearable.

And then it broke, like a dam giving way to a tidal wave.

The monks literally flipped out, swirling nunchucks like deadly hurricanes, twirling wickedly curved swords on the edges of their fingers, spinning metal quarter staffs above their heads, or tossing knives dangerously between their hands. Half of the monks back-flipped in wide arcs, impossible for even the greatest of gymnasts, while the rest stayed put or charged towards Fox and Jet.

What followed was an epic fight scene that would make _The Matrix _jealous. I hope.

A feline acolyte handling a long metal rod launched himself at Fox, spinning around and whirling the staff like a cyclone. Fox had become quite handy with Krystal's staff back on Sauria, and proved to be an equal combatant for the cat. He held his staff out vertically in a defensive pose, blocking his opponent's staff with his own. Another acolyte came at him from the side swinging a chain mace, but Fox stepped to the side just in time to avoid the pointed ball end. He set his foot down on the chain so that the acolyte couldn't lift it back up to take another swing, then bent over forwards to duck under a swing from the staff-carrying feline. He swung his own staff around, catching the other acolyte in the head with the spear end, the blades burying into his head and knocking him over. He swiftly dislodged the staff and blocked another blow from the cat, who returned to a defensive posture, holding his staff horizontally, though he wasn't prepared for Fox's next attack. Fox swung his staff downward in a vicious arc, and the feline countered by raising his staff up with his two hands. Instead of taking his staff away for another blow, Fox instead knelt to the ground, spinning his staff around the other's, using it as an axis. The sharp end caught the cat in the jaw, and he dropped his staff, falling over backwards.

Behind Fox, Jet opened fire with his two blasters, managing a few searing hits on two acolytes charging him before one of them raised one of his paws as if he was stopping a car; the lasers halted in mid air, unable to go any further, and collected together until they formed a brilliant looking pincushion. The other acolyte continued on. Jet slipped his guns back into their holsters, and charged forward to meet him. The acolyte raised a curved scimitar, ready to bring it down on Jet, but the raven swatted the blow away with one of his wings bristling with metal feathers. He pulled two out, driving them like daggers into the acolyte's side. The other acolyte had spread Jet's frozen lasers out around him like a crescent shield, and was running towards him again. Jet dropped to the ground to avoid the halo of lasers that passed inches above his head, then swept his feet around in a circle, kicking the acolyte's legs out from under him. With his concentration on the spell lost, the lasers continued on their former path, striking the acolyte and killing him.

_Dodge to the right! _Black's voice shouted in Fox's head. He quickly obeyed, and several throwing stars passed inches from his face, emitting a metallic hum. Another acolyte juggling daggers began throwing them at Fox, who took off running to circumvent the attacker. He ran in a wide arc around the acolyte, the daggers passing inches behind him. When he came to the wall that lined him up with the dagger-wielding chimp, he ran up the side towards him. The acolyte took the chance to fling another knife at Fox, but he swung his staff to deflect it, then spun the staff around for an attack, pushed himself off the wall, and brought the staff down like a mace on the acolyte.

Fox looked over at Jet, who was still in the center of the room, now swarmed by acolytes. Jet pirouetted on the toes of his boots, holding his wings out to slice his attackers like a deadly buzz-saw. He then stopped and launched his feet forwards, performing a stationary back-flip to kick an acolyte into the air. He quickly drew his blaster and riddled the luckless acolyte with searing holes. The move, however, left him open to the numerous enemies around him. A large canine grabbed him by the neck, miraculously holding on even when Jet jabbed his feathers into its side. Two other acolytes were drawing back their scimitars to plunge them into Jet's unprotected torso when Fox acted. He ran towards his partner, shouting, "Jet! GET OFF THE GROUND!"

Jet had no inkling of what Fox was preparing to do, but he readily obliged. His head still constrained by the large canine behind him, he pushed himself off the ground with his feet, and, though he was still being nearly strangled, he was able to stay off the ground for a few seconds.

When he was close enough, Fox slammed the staff's pommel into the ground, causing a shock-wave to course through the floor, sending the group of acolytes surrounding Jet flying. The canine holding onto Jet was forced to let go, and Jet fell to the floor. Fox quickly gave him a hand up, turning to fight the recovering acolytes, but Black spoke again; _No, now is the time to run; __I'll seal our path behind us. Take the first archway on your left!_

Fox and Jet stumbled head-over heels to get to the archway, diving inside when they reached it. They turned around to see the acolytes giving chase, but the edges of the archway suddenly rippled like water, then flowed to meet at the center of the door, closing them off from their enemies.

"Whew," Fox gasped, rising to his feet. "Thanks, Black; thought we were goners."

_We still are. Someone's coming the other way._

As if on cue, another acolyte came around the corner of the round tunnel they were in, pausing when he saw them. The hooded figure fluidly waved his hands in strange pattern, ending with his palms open and facing Jet and Fox.

_Ray spell; we need a shield._

Just as the acolyte released a searing beam of light at the two, Jet stepped forwards, thrusting his energy deflector in its wake. He struggled to keep his footing as the glowing ray continued to push against his shield. The acolyte had them pinned down at the opposite end of the tunnel; if Fox merely stepped out from behind Jet's shield, the acolyte would easily just angle his beam towards him, and he'd be toast before he took another step.

_Fox, run up the walls._

_ Are you insane? _he thought back.

T_rust me anyways. _

Fox dove out from behind Jet's cover, running up the curved wall of the confined tunnel. The acolyte did as Fox expected; he slightly turned his beam at him. However, instead of being fried to bacon crisp, Fox found himself running up the curved tunnel wall with unnatural speed. _It must be one of Black's spells. _As Fox ran up the wall and onto the ceiling, the acolyte was unable to hit him with the beam; Fox was going too fast. He came down the opposite side of the tunnel wall, slide like a baseball player sliding to home through the shallow, inky waters at the base of the tunnel, and swept the legs of the attacker out from under him with a blow from his staff. By now, the acolyte's spell had ended, and Fox had slid past him. He quickly stood up, spinning around to slam his staff back down on the acolyte, smashing his skull. The acolyte fell unconscious to the tunnel's bottom, making the thin later of water at the base slosh around.

"Black?" Fox asked as he wiped the murky water off of his pants.

_What?_

"Do that more often. I don't see a point in batting people senseless if it's just going to exhaust me."

_Sure thing._

Jet latched his deflector onto his belt again and caught up with Fox at the opposite corner in the tunnel. "So, where do we go next?"

_Jet, how many paths do you see?_

"Uh... just one."

_Then follow it. You don't need my help for that._

"Hey, I was just sayin' – "

Black interrupted Jet by brushing past him and Fox. There was a large splash in the water, and his invisible boots began sloshing forwards in a confident stride. _Fine; follow me. Let the invisible man lead the way._

I

The shaft of light from above shone down on Krystal for an hour, and yet, all the time she stared up expectantly at the bright hole a hundred feet above her, there had been no sign of movement. Krystal didn't even know why they had bothered to open the hole, but she was thankful for the one ray of hope the light brought with it; it illuminated the stone table she was chained to, and she felt like anything was an improvement over the perpetual darkness before the light had been allowed to escape in.

Though the realization that a monster was lurking at the far corner of the room had her scared at first, she soon realized she had nothing to fear; it was dead. It was only a shell. Why they even had a dead, giant, insectoid beast in the room was another matter. She decided not to think about it, just to get her mind off her daunting situation, and so that she wouldn't come to any frightening conclusions she didn't want to hear. She had gotten quite good at ignoring the present circumstances. In fact, instead of being constantly worried, she found herself... bored.

Krystal began to think she _missed _being afraid, at least it would excite her; anything was better than this awful wait. She began praying something, _anything_, would happen.

What happened next made her wish she had never asked for that.

She suddenly became aware of eight knew presences that had recently entered the large sanctuary she was in, but upon trying to pry into their minds, she came up empty handed; the creatures had built up strong mental defenses, defenses she couldn't penetrate. In the dim light emitted from the hole above here, Krystal was able to make out the eight forms; they were dark, hooded figures standing around her in a circle. Rows upon rows of candles set on the floor sprang to life with flames, but the glow they cast was turned a sickly green color because of the poisonous fog drifting on the floor. The hooded figures spread their arms out, and began chanting in a strange, ominous tongue she couldn't understand, but the very sound of the words was enough to haunt her.

The eight minds began to brush against her own, the effects sending icy chills down her spine. One by one, her mental blockades fell at the onslaught of the much superior consciences as they effortlessly shattered her barriers. Krystal closed her eyes and curled up in a ball, focusing all her strength on her mental walls. She was determined to keep whoever her attackers were out of her mind. She began to tremble from the exertion. But it was paying off; the attackers were having trouble advancing any further. Krystal was determined to hold out as long as she could, until Fox came for her.

Or until she broke.

I

"I got something!" Slippy excitedly called into his wrist communicator. He was standing on the docks of Atorantisu that opened the city to the massive ocean of Zoness, a cool sea breeze slightly drifting through his mechanic's outfit and medical mask.

_"Great, Slip!" _Falco replied through their radio connection. _"I was beginning to think we'd never find him!" _The search had only taken about an hour, but an hour of feverishly combing the city for any sign of Fox. Slippy, Falco, and Katt had all spread throughout the city to search for Fox's wrist comm on their radar; Slippy had finally picked up a signal.

_"Are you sure Fox is carrying it?" _Katt asked, _"Is the signal moving at all?"_

After a second of squinting at the screen, Slippy gave his answer. "Yup, looks like Fox, or whoever is carrying his comm is moving on foot. But no, I can't say for sure it's Fox."

_"Should we risk contacting whoever it is?" _Amanda ventured.

_"It's our only hope,"_ Falco answered. _"Go ahead, Slip, contact him."_

Slippy nervously patched himself through to Fox's wrist comm.

I

_"Hello?" _Fox's radio came to life.

Ahead of Jet and Fox in the tunnel, the splashes indicated Black had slid to a stop and turned around. _Who is it? _he asked.

"Slip, is that you?" Fox replied back.

His radio erupted in a giant garble of static that must have been Slippy shouting for joy. _"YAAAAAHOOO! We found him! I repeat, we found him!"_

Black and Jet remained silent as Fox communicated with his teammate. "Whoa, Slippy, calm down! I'm fine!"

_"What have you been doing all this time?" _Falco asked, connecting to the communication network.

_"Are you hurt?" _Amanda asked, worried.

_"Did you find Krystal?" _Katt asked.

_"Who sent you that mysterious message?" _Beltino's turn.

"Guys, guys, hold on, one question at a – "

_"Where the heck are you?" _Slippy continued.

_"Are you in any danger?" _Katt.

_"What's the average rainfall of Fortuna's Great Basin?" _Winston.

"WOULD YOU ALL JUST _shut up for a sec_?" Fox shouted at the top of his lungs, then quickly turned it into a whisper as he caught a shushing motion from Jet; the Catalysts might hear them. "Thank you. Now, I will try to answer the majority of the questions as quickly as I can. I got a strange message from someone that told me to go to – "

_"Yes, yes, we know about the message, skip that part!" _Beltino urged, exasperated.

"Fine. I followed the message to an abandoned warehouse, where I met..." Here Fox trailed off, unsure of what to say. He met a strange vulpine who nearly poisoned him, blew his mind every other word he said, and seemed to know a bit too much about Fox. Would they even believe him? Whatever. It would take too long. "Remember the newest member of Starwolf, back on Fichina?"

_"The raven?" _Slippy asked.

"His name's _Jet._"

_"Yeah! Me and Krys whooped his tail-feathers in a matter of – "_

A sideways glance at Jet told Fox he should change the subject fast. "Uh, yeah, I met him and an old friend of his in the warehouse. They explained to me the Androssians handed Krystal over to a cult group that needs her for some kind of ritual. They used to be in the cult themselves, so they now where their hideout is, how to get in, and where Krystal is being held. That's where we are now; the Sanctum."

_"Oooh," _Slippy said. _"Sounds freaky. When can we join you?"_

"That's a good question." Fox turned to where an invisible Black's boots made small holes in the water. "Let me consult the voices in my head."

Taking his cue, Black spoke to Fox. _It will take them too long to meet up with us; the transmigration has probably started by now._

_ Our Arwings are capable of submerging underwater, could they blast their way into the sanctuary?_

_ For Heaven's sake, NO! It took years for us to build the Sanctum! I'll just open a portal to the outside. A lot of water will poor through, though, but it'll just fill up the lower rooms of the Sanctum, and be filtered back __out into the __– wait, did you say your ships can go underwater?_

_ Yeah... why?_

_ Impressive. I didn't know what I'd miss out on._

_ Huh?_

Black directed the subject back on course. _Only two ships an Arwing's size can fit in the sanctuary, which is generous at that. Pick your two best pilots._

"Sorry, Slip; looks like our plan only has space and time for two people. Is everyone listening?" Everyone in the search party and on the Great Fox said yes. "Good. Krystal is being held in a large room that's below sea level, and conveniently next to the ocean."

_"I sea where you're taking this," _Falco said, jumping the gun. _"You want us to blast our way in and flood the whole place? Brilliant."_

"Why is everyone on your team obsessed with destroying things?" Jet asked.

"And that's coming from a member of Starwolf?"

"Oh... right." A picture of Leon maniacally laughing and lighting a stick of TNT filled both of their minds.

"No, Falco, you aren't going to blow it up. Jet's friend can open up a portal in the wall for you to safely get through."

_"And who are the two pilots for the mission?"_

"You and Katt."

_"Darn it," _Slippy said. _"But wait, Katt's ship isn't submersible."_

"Uh, hadn't thought of that. You know what, trade ships with Katt for now, then fly back to the Great Fox and guide it safely to Atorantisu. Wait, where is the Great Fox?"

_"Aquas."_

"You forgot _the Great Fox?_"

_"No, we just didn't want to bring it here with all the patrols searching Zoness' airspace. The sky is crawling with Androssians!" _

"Alright, well, have the Great Fox warp to Atorantisu when the airspace above the city is clear, then land it out of sight."

_"How do you hide a 1,230 foot long battleship in a – "_

"I don't know! Just, dock it in the water off the side of the city or, something. Any more questions? Good. Katt, Falco, hang around the undersea wall next to my location on radar until a portal opens. Slippy and Katt, trade ships first."

_"One thing, frog boy," _Katt half-growled/half-purred at Slippy._"Scratch my ship, and you're dead."_

_ "Ye- yes, Katt. I'll be careful."_

I

Twenty minutes later, Black led Fox and Jet out of the grime-covered tunnel they had just been through and into a larger corridor that seemed much more fit for travel, though just as dark, dirty, and eerie as the tunnel.

_The hallway is just down this hallway, _Black thought to Fox and Jet. _We must make haste; they may reincarnate the monster at any minute._

Fox bent over lower towards the ground like a jockey leaning lower on his horse, and sprinted on ahead, taking the hallway in long, powerful strides. It wasn't long before Krystal would be in sight. His heart beat faster in anticipation and renewed hope that he would save her soon enough; he could even see the dim, white glow that must have been from the sanctuary reflecting on the moist floor at the end of the hall.

Without warning, scarlet red laser beams sprang from every side of the dark hallway that was previously wrapped in shadows. They continuously poured in steady streams from gargoyle-like heads embedded in the walls, ceiling, and floor of the hall.

"They know we're here!" Jet warned. "Watch out, those lasers can burn holes clean through you if you touch one!"

Fox clenched his fists and seethed in frustration at the path now blocked by a long web of lasers that stretched the length of the hall. He drew his blaster and fired at the gargoyle head spitting a laser closest to him. The head exploded, raising a cloud of now powdery stone into the air; the laser it was pouring forth was cut off, but Fox had only destroyed a single strand in the never ending web before him.

_Looks like it's the only way, _Black said._ And the safest._

Jet and Fox continued on through the hallway in the same manner, Jet using his two blasters while Fox used Krystal's staff to bash-in the laser heads. It was a rather grueling and tedious task.

"Is this where you got that move from?" Fox asked Jet.

"Huh?" Jet leaned over to blast another head.

"You know, the one you used in the Fichinan embassy?"

"The metal feathers and the laser web? Good job connecting the dots. I did get the idea from this defense system. But how did you know about the move?"

"As you heard, Slippy has a big mouth."

"Oh." Jet was silent for a moment as he forged on ahead with Fox. "Still, it was pretty fun burning little holes in the frog."

"If you hadn't noticed," Fox growled as he swung his staff down on a laser emitter, "You kind-of got Krystal, too."

"Alright, so, maybe hurting a woman wasn't as fun as Slippy. But the lasers weren't as deadly as these."

A few more minutes of relative silence followed, in which Fox became more and more frustrated.

"Dang it!" Fox burst out. "This is taking forever! I can't stand it!"

_Relax, Fox, _Black's calming voice entered Fox's head. _It's just a few more – _

Suddenly, a mournful wail echoed down the hallway from the room up ahead.

"What was that?" Jet asked, worried.

"KRYSTAL!" Fox answered, rushing onwards in a mad dash.

_Fox, wait! Be careful!_

"We may be too late already!" he called back to Jet and Black, the latter of which was presumably still behind him. Fox turned his attention back to the hallway in front of him. He collapsed Krystal's staff and shoved it into a hoop on his belt, trading it for his energy deflector. As he charged onwards down the hall, he jumped, flipped, dove over or slid, rolled, or scurried under laser beam after laser beam. He used the deflector to reflect the lasers away from himself, instead angling them to burn holes in the walls instead of them normally flowing into their receivers at the opposite side of the hallway.

_Well don't just stand their like an idiot! Follow him!_

Jet, at the urging of Black's words, forged on ahead to catch up with Fox, though his instincts forced him to take the web of lasers much more cautiously and slowly. He mimicked Fox by using his own deflector and skills in acrobatics.

Finally, Fox passed the last of the lasers and made it out of the hallway and into the Sanctuary; his jaw slightly dropping at what he saw.

The Sanctuary was a large, octagonal-shaped room with arching walls that led up to a circular, open hole at the very top, through which a stream of dull, ghostly white light was pouring. A circle of hooded acolytes were gathered around the center, chanting dark incantations. The far edges of the room were shrouded in darkness, their exact natures hidden. But Fox wasn't looking at any of that; his entire attention was focused on a stone table around which the acolytes were grouped, on top of it was...

Krystal.

She was chained by the wrists to the table, curled up in a fatal position, battered and bloody from the recent battle back on Aquas.

_I'm not too late, _Fox told himself. He drew his blaster and fired it at the nearest acolyte, but the laser blast dissipated on some sort of invisible force field surrounding the circle. Jet emerged from the hallway behind Fox, sliding to a stop beside him.

"There are only eight, we can take 'em," he panted.

But eight more acolytes stepped from the shadows, clothed in the same combat robs they had seen earlier, except they were entirely black instead of red.

_Keep in mind these are not the usual mindless Androssians you've been fighting, _Black warned. _These are__ elite acolytes, the best of the best. They are cunning, sharp, and deadly. I will do all I can to protect you with magic, but you'll have to do the manual labor._

Letting out a feral growl, Fox unsheathed Krystal's staff and charged the eight guardians who formed a semi-circle around the other group. A lizard on the left spun two throwing stars at Fox, the wickedly-bladed edges slicing the air where Fox's head had been only a fraction of a moment ago. Before they could send any more projectiles his way, Fox had reached the line of defensive acolytes. The tip of Krystal's staff burst into blue flames as he angrily swung it at a jaguar, who merely raised his hands to halt it mid swing with an invisible force field, grinning evilly. But as Fox gritted his teeth and forced the staff's burning tip closer and closer to the acolyte with unnatural strength, the grin vanished. Before he could break through the acolyte's force field, another one came at him from the right, swinging a razor-sharp katana. Fox gave up his attack on the jaguar to duck the vicious swing from the terrier. He spun around, swinging the staff in a wide arc at the dog, whose katana had stuck in the ground, leaving him open. But the terrier quickly let go of his sword and stepped back, the staff falling short of him. He raised his hand and opened it towards his katana, which left the ground and flew into his grasp. Renewing his attack, the terrier continued to take swipe after swipe at Fox, who struggled to block with his staff. On his final stroke, the canine twirled his sword expertly and spun Krystal's staff out of Fox's hands. The terrier took one final swing at Fox, who was unable to dodge. Without thinking, Fox grabbed the sharp edge of the katana with his paws, stopping the blade before it took his head. Both he and the acolyte were surprised; the sword didn't leave a scratch on Fox's paws. _Black, _Fox thought. Recovering before the terrier could, Fox wrenched the sword out of the terrier's hands and spun it around to stab him in the gut. The canine let out one last surprised gasp, then fell limply to the floor as Fox jerked the katana back out of his body. _One down, seven to go._

He barely had time to think that thought before the jaguar he had been fighting only moments earlier attacked him; his hands held a sort of green flame that curled up into the air about a foot. He directed the flames at Fox, who had no idea how to counter the blazing flames. Before the acolyte reached Fox, however, there was a rush of movement behind him. The jaguar arched his back grotesquely, flames immediately dying out, and fell to the floor, revealing Jet behind him, holding two bloody metal feathers. Fox gave a grateful nod to Jet, then bent down to pick up Krystal's staff. Two acolytes charged him from either side, both swinging chain maces, long linked chains with metal spiked heads at the end. The first one swung at Fox, who stepped out of reach, and the mace wrapped around Krystal's staff, which Fox braced against the ground. The other acolyte took his turn to swing. As the spiked end came flying at Fox, he used his staff to help him back-flip over it, and the mace's chain also wrapped around the staff. As Fox set one foot on either chain, still holding on to Krystal's staff, the two acolytes attempted to pull back on their maces, but all they succeeded in doing was lifting the staff in the air between the taught chains, with Fox still on it. He precariously balanced on the unstable chains, then threw the katana he had picked up at the acolyte on his right, the sword lodging in his side without even a flinch from the victim.

A large bear with a strange weapon came over to help them. The weapon was made of four curved blades extending from a center handle which allowed the weapon to be easily spun like a windmill. He dove at Fox, spinning the weapon dangerously near his neck, but Fox grabbed on to Krystal's staff and allowed himself to drop around the other side of the chain, swinging down and then up between the bear and his weapon so that he had come full circle. He pushed his feet off into the air, performing two spinning kicks to the bear's face as he still held onto the staff. The bear dropped the weapon on the other side of Fox, and staggered backwards.

_Knife behind you! _Black shouted inside his head. Fox spun around and raised his paw again, just in time to catch the spinning dagger. It halted in mid air pointing towards him, a mere few inches away from his paw. With his other hand, he grabbed the knife, then threw it at one of the acolytes holding the chain rope they had made. The knife landed in the acolyte's head, and he fell over. _Five left. _The chain line created by the two maces became slack, and Fox fell to the ground along with Krystal's staff. The other acolyte finally was able to pull his mace away, spinning Krystal's staff away from Fox as he did so.

Fox struggled to his feet, then noticed the bear mimicking a spinning motion with his paws. Just as Fox heard a metallic whine behind him, he jumped into the air. The bear's spinning blades flashed through the air only an inch underneath him. Without its intended target to block its path, the windmill blades flew into its owner, who was unable to avoid them. _Four, _Fox thought as he fell to his hands and knees from the jump. He picked up his staff and turned his attention to the remaining four acolytes they had to worry about. Just as he was preparing to charge, he heard Krystal let out of gasp of pain. Fox looked at the circle of acolytes performing the ritual, and saw Krystal shaking in anguish at the center.

"KRYSTAL!" he shouted in fear.

I

Deep in her conscience, Krystal was struggling against the invasive minds of her captors, trying to hold out against their unrelenting attacks to break her. The mind-scape was dark and filled with a foggy mist. She could feel the presences of the eight beings assaulting her, trying to tear her last defenses down.

Suddenly, a faint sound cut through the perpetual mist suffocating her minds. Her eight captors attempted to force it from her attention, but were unsuccessful. There it was again! She could barely make it out; someone was calling her name!

The mist began to clear and the attacking minds began to weaken. The third time her name was called, she recognized the voice.

Fox had come for her!

Her eyes snapped open, and she searched the gloom of the sanctuary for him, though her vision, much like her mind, was clouded. When she recognized his golden tell-tale hue amongst the other blotches of color, she managed to whisper in a hoarse voice, "Fox."

But just as soon as she regained physical awareness, she was pulled back under again by relentless attacks of her captors pounding against her mental... no, _spiritual _walls. But there was something else creeping closer and closer towards her; it was the same mysterious shadow that had lurked at the edges of her senses since she woke up in the sanctuary. It was getting closer and closer, yet there was no space in which it existed. It grew larger and larger, yet there was no matter to increase. It gained more and more strength, yet there were no muscles or sinews to be moved.

The being was not of the world.

But it wanted to be.

It all made sense now; the ritual, the dead monster, the dark presence. It was trying to get back to its body. No... they had never been one before, connected; it wasn't its body. Any body would do for the being.

As the demon drew closer, a wave of chaotic thoughts assaulted her own, in a language she had never heard before; death itself. Her barriers splintered beneath the crushing force of the writhing hurricane, and the maelstrom moved on to ravage her soul. As her mind went black, Krystal let out her pain and anguish in one final scream.

I

_Black, what's happening? _Fox urgently thought as Krystal let out a terrible, continuous scream.

_We're too late, _he replied, _The transmigration is underway. The spirit is possessing the host; he __will next inhabit the monster. _

_ What will happen to Krystal? _Fox was having trouble hearing his thoughts over the scream.

But Black remained silent.

Krystal's scream suddenly took on an unearthly tone; Krystal wasn't the one screaming anymore. The scream elevated in volume and pitch, until it began to make Fox's ears ring. He fell to his knees, covering his ears in vain as he watched Krystal. Before he was sure his eardrums would burst, Krystal's mouth slammed shut. She suddenly straightened up, rising into the air as far as her manacles would permit. Her eyes snapped open, but they were rolled back into her head. She fixed her blank, pupiless stare on Fox for one haunting second, then turned to a dark corner in the room. A dim light lit up the area to which she was looking at, though Fox didn't know where it came from. A hideous monster was revealed, a giant insect-looking mutant. It looked like a giant, metallic-green wasp standing upright on its back two legs. From its torso extended six legs in all, each one as long as a bus and ending in three massive claws that could crush a fighter if the chance ever presented itself. Its wings were small for its size, and folded uselessly on its back. But its face was the most hideous part of all; four eyes adorned the head like multi-faceted jewels, and a large mouth made up of four jaw segments. A beam of energy extended from Krystal's eyes to the monster's, and with that, Krystal dropped back down to the ground.

All eyes were on the monster. Nothing happened as first as the glow dissipated from its eyes. Then a sign of movement; the three claws on one of its arms twitched. Then the air was filled with the sound of fleshy and metallic snaps as the creature practiced moving every segment of its body. Then, satisfied with its new body, the creature opened its mouth and let out a guttural roar filled with plenty of spit and venom. The monster began to slowly advance forward on its hind legs.

The eight acolytes who had performed the ritual joined the remaining four guards, and they quickly surrounded Fox and Jet.

"Uh, Falco?" Fox spoke into his wrist comm. "I think now would be a good time to get in here!"

_"Hey! I was just about to call you. We're almost there! Diving into the ocean now. Man, Slippy was a genius... these ships can do anything. Uh, Katt, whatever you're doing, it doesn't look cool."_

_ "I'm trying! I can't help it if I've never flown one of these before! I haven't even gotten acquainted with the original model!"_

_ "Yeah, well, I would expect you to at least know which of the three transformation buttons to press; they're pretty obvious... but you turned into a _tank_? Seriously? You're sinking like a rock!" _

"Just hurry up and get here!" Fox yelled back, ending the communication, just in time to counter a blow from an acolyte carrying two scythes. The rest of the acolytes attacked, and Fox and Jet were getting overwhelmed.

"What do we do?!" Jet shouted to Fox.

Fox turned his gaze to Krystal, who was crumpled, lifeless, on the stone alter. The monster was headed in her direction.

"Help me get to Krystal!"

"Right!" Jet answered. As four acolytes charged him, he ducked under a saber and put one of his blasters to the owner's head, and fired. He then rapidly turned to face the others, leaping forwards and spinning around to perform two roundhouse kicks, temporarily felling two of them. The remaining acolyte swung his nunchucks at Jet, but he dodged left right, under, then dealt a swift upper-cut to the acolyte. Free for a moment, Jet spun around again, sending metal feathers everywhere, landing in the floor, walls, and unfortunate acolytes. Purple lasers sprang from the ends, creating his own personal web of deadly strands. The air was filled with the unpleasant smell of burning clothes, fur, and skin, as the acolytes frantically tried to destroy the annoying feathers. Fox took the chance to sprint on past the acolytes, but his heart faltered for a second when he saw the monster approaching Krystal.

_Black? _He asked.

_Yes? I'm kind of busy right now; I trained these acolytes a little too well._

_ Is Krystal alive?_

There was a silence in his head as Black thought for a moment. It became clear he wasn't going to reach Krystal's crumpled form before the monster did.

_Would the monster be headed her way of she wasn't?_

Fox felt a welcome onrush of adrenaline spur him on.

I

Krystal blinked her eyes open, groaning from her sore limbs. She pushed herself up with her arms... only to find the monster towering over her. The monster drew itself up to its full height, spread its clawed arms out, took in a full breath, and then released it in a thunderous roar that shook the whole sanctuary.

"Oh, God..." she whispered as she struggled to rise into a crouched position. She felt a new wave of energy come to her aide. The monster pulled back an arm, clawed hand stretching wide, and brought its hand done towards Krystal. She jerked to the side as far as she could, and the monster's three-clawed hand dug into the stone alter, making three holes and slicing through one of Krystal's chains. The force of the chain being broken dashed Krystal to the ground, and she had to struggle to stay conscious. She looked up again, her world slightly spinning as the massive insect raised its other arm to strike.

Suddenly, a golden figure bounded up onto the shattered alter, hurling a round object at the monster. As soon as it hit its head, a violent explosion engulfed the monster's upper body, the sound from the explosion mixing with the its screams. The golden figure sat down beside Krystal, laying her head in his lap.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

Krystal recognized that voice. It was... "Fox?"

"I'm here for ya," he said as he took out his gun and began blasting his way through the last chain attaching Krystal to the alter. Once free, he pulled Krystal into his arms, and looked back in the direction of the monster. The smoke from the explosion had cleared, and the monster once again was leaning in closer to the alter, insectoid sinews clicking. Fox turned on his wrist comm and shouted into it. "FALCO, KATT, WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU!" That was the Fox she knew.

_"Ok, we just reached the sub-sea wall outside __of __the Sanct__u__ary. How's that portal coming along?"_

_ Can you open it now? _Fox asked Black.

_Sorry, I can't focus long enough; I'm protecting Jet. Maybe if I could just... no. No chance. I hat__e __saying this... blow it in._

_ Sure thing._

_ And Fox... make sure it's a small hole. Not too big, you hear me? We put a lot of work into the Sanctuary._

_ Alright, I'll tell them. _"Sorry, Falco; we can't open the portal; you'll have to blast your way in."

_"What are you sorry about?" _Falco replied, chuckling. _"From the start, I wanted to blow our way in – "_

"Just shut up and do it, will ya?" Fox began carrying Krystal away from the alter and the monster, back-paddling so he could keep an eye on the creature. It began to give chase; the grenade hadn't even made a dent in the creature's exo-skeleton. So much order had come from chaos; a small creature mutated to such extremes just from the random chemicals Andross used to pollute Zoness.

With a radio-squawking _"YEEHAAA!" _there was a ground-shaking explosion, and one of the walls of the Sanctuary caved in with a rush of dark, cascading water and a land-slide of mortar. All eyes, including the monster's, turned to focus on the roaring flow of water. The wave crashed onto the floor, quickly rushing across the dark surface and dispelling the green mist. Everyone was knocked back slightly from the first rush of water. The Sanctuary, however, was not filling up. Water poured into the arched doorways around the room, or drainage sewers placed at the walls. Immediately following the collapsing wall was an Arwing 3.0; it rode off the wave of water and into the air, transforming from submarine mode back into aerial mode, hovering in mid air.

_"BOOM, BABY!" _Falco's voice shouted through the radio again. _"Now that's what I'm talkin' about. Now where is that ugly little – HOLY CRUD!" _he exclaimed as he noticed the monster. He quickly began firing with his ship's plasma cannons, unloading the full load on the insect. Katt's ship appeared in the hole, distorted by the water pouring in. She, too, opened fire. The beast roared and attempted to swat Falco's Arwing, but he maneuvered out of the way just in time.

_Well, I'm glad they got that __under __control, _Fox thought, carrying Krystal into a corner, where he laid her down, carefully. He was soon joined by Jet, who was slowly retreating from the acolytes.

"Hey, uh, we're not done, Fox."

Fox was torn between helping Jet and tending to Krystal, but he knew it was for the best. "I'll only be a moment; stay here." As he turned to fight with Jet, Krystal gave him a questioning look that said, 'What else can I do?'

Fox smiled back, then unsheathed his staff and ran over to Jet's side. "How many did you take down?"

Jet's reply was delayed by a deafening roar from the monster, followed by a few crashes and another outbreak of lasers from Falco and Katt.

"Only three; still got nine to go." If I got the math wrong, it's Jet's fault.

"Good job," and with that, they charged the acolytes, Fox spinning Krystal's staff and Jet drawing his two blasters. When they reached the group, Fox knocked a blow from a saber aside, then ducked another swing at him, swinging his own staff and cutting into an acolyte's jaw.

Jet fired into the group, but his shots were just deflected with a wave of one of the acolyte's hands. He next rolled a grenade into the group, which distracted them. Another acolyte picked it up and cupped his paws around it, the explosion contained by magic again, but the distraction was all Jet needed to get closer to them. He pressed his gun barrels into the back of a lizard, and fired at point blank range. As another acolyte swung his nunchucks at Jet, he caught the falling lizard and used his body as a shield to block the blow.

Though their initial charge was strong, they began to flounder. Fox was struck from behind with a staff, and he fell to his knees. Before he could get up or roll away, his legs were knocked straight out from under him, and he fell on his back. His eyes widened as an acolyte brought a curved scimitar down at his face, and he snapped them shut before the blow hit.

But it never did.

He cracked one eye, and found that the blade was stuck an inch from his muzzle.

_What, you didn't think I abandoned you, did you? __Now get off your butt and kick theirs!_

Fox felt himself become charged with new strength; he felt invincible. He swung himself around on the ground, kicking his attacker's legs out from under him, and bringing himself to his feet in the same process. He violently spun around, swinging Krystal's staff into the acolytes around him and sending them flying.

_Now give Jet a hand, won't you?_

Fox charged over to Jet, who was surrounded by more acolytes, but they knew he was coming. Fox swung at one, only to have him back-flip over him. He turned to face him, barely in time to whack away a karate chop from the acolyte's flaming hands. Fox noticed the acolyte's face wasn't painted with black, but gold; he was obviously of a higher rank, and therefore, much harder to kill. Fox shouted and swung his staff in a vicious attack pattern, only to have the acolyte block each and every swing with his trained hands. The acolyte returned the attack with his own, landing several hits on Fox as he pushed him back. The only reason he was able to survive the attack was because of the magical buff Black provided. Jet wasn't doing so well either; Fox had failed to get the acolytes off of him. They soon found themselves pushed back to the corner Krystal was in, fighting for their lives.

"How're you doing, Falco?" Fox asked, taking a moment to assess the situation.

_"Not so well; we haven't made a scratch on the thing!"_

_ "Somebody better do something, fast, or we're __dead ducks__!" _Katt added.

_You know what? _Black said to Fox. _I've been thinking of remodeling this room __for awhile, and, since we already got it started..._

Suddenly, there was a flutter of a black cloak as Black became visible again; he was floating above everyone, several feet in the air. The acolytes looked up at him, surprise painting their faces as they saw their master. Black flew even higher into the air, until he was in the middle of the room. He threw his arms out, and bright flecks of energy seemed to fly from the far edges of the room towards him. The energy continued to build up around him in a large ball, almost as bright as the sun. The monster lifted its claw to shield its eyes from the intense light, screeching in pain.

"Hold on... Fox." And with that, Black unleashed the energy in a massive explosion that burned the very air around them. The explosion blinded Fox's eyes, and he felt himself being forced away by the powerful blast; it was as if a sun had gone super-nova inside the sanctuary. As the walls collapsed in around them, the whole room, or what was left of it, began filling up with water. In his last moments, Fox dove for Krystal, grabbing onto her.

Then, everything went black as they were forced out into the ocean...

I

_"__I think I see someone!" _Katt gleefully exclaimed over the radio link.

"Where?" Falco asked, jumping at the strand of hope.

_"On the sandbar on our right!"_

"Nice one, Katt. Let's pull over to pick this hitch-hiker up."

The two pilots maneuvered their Arwings into a landing position, smoothly setting their ships down at the opposite end of the sandbar. It was more of a small island than a sandbar; a palm tree or two was dotting the long stretch of sand. Falco popped open his canopy and hopped out, his fall absorbed by the soft sand of the island. From the sound of another object hitting the sand, Falco could tell Katt had jumped out, too. He slowly walked across the thin island towards the figure sitting at the edge of the beach, where the sea met the shore. He stopped a few feet away, finally able to make out who it was. It was a young raven dressed in a dark trench-coat and hat, starring out across the water.

Katt caught up to Falco, whispering, "Who is it?" She had never met Jet before, and therefore didn't recognize him.

"Jet Raven," Falco whispered back. "He's actually a member of Starwolf. We uh... ran into him on Fichina."

Katt grimaced, knowingly. "Under less than desirable circumstances?"

"You could put it that way."

They stared at Jet for a minute, looking quite lonesome against the background of the Zoness' endless sea. Falco made up his mind, and he walked over to him, sitting down beside Jet. Katt did the same, sitting on his other side. Jet showed know indication he knew they were there; he just kept staring. Falco followed his gaze out across the ocean, which he realized was a very stunning view. In the early morning light, the sun was barely peeking up over the horizon, casting soft blue lights across the sky, the stars just starting to melt away into the morning. It was a peaceful picture in stark contrast to the violent and dark Sanctum they fought through earlier. It was a much welcomed change that made Falco relax. His eyes moved from the soft sky to the sparkling water below. Shallow waves lapped against the white shore of the island, occasionally coming up to their feet. Falco almost couldn't believe his eyes; the sea had a blue hue; not green, but _blue_. The blue he remembered from years ago, when he still lived on Zoness. It must have been a trick of the light. Regardless, it brought back memories of countless nights spent on the beach with his old friends.

He glanced sideways at Katt, who was sitting on the opposite side of Jet. He noticed a tear slid down her face, and realized they were sharing the same memories; they were both having the same feeling of nostalgia. His gaze shifted to Jet, who seemed to be keeping a stiff upper beak. A thought struck Falco.

Turning back to the quiet sunrise, he said, awkwardly, "Hey, uh... Jet. You ever been to Zoness before?"

He nodded.

"Did you ever see it... before it was like this? When the water was blue, the sky was clear, you could walk out of your house without wearing a mask..."

"Smell the fresh sea breeze..." Jet added.

"Taste _real _kani," Katt said.

It was obvious Jet had lived there in his early years.

"How old were you before..." Falco couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence; his throat choked up.

"Five."

"Dang..." That put Jet at sixteen now. Only sixteen, and he was flying with the most notorious mercenaries in Lylat. How many people had he killed already? How many in that night alone? Falco remembered that Jet had once been a member of the Catalysts himself... did that mean he had been killing his friends? No... Falco couldn't believe any of them had ever been friends. "How did you run into the cult?" He asked.

"My parents... died, during the defiling. I became an orphan on the streets. The leader of the Catalysts, Black, found me one day, and decided to take me in. He payed more attention to me then any of the other members, even though he didn't teach me much; he couldn't bear to take me down that dark path. He felt like a father to me."

"I'm sorry," Falco said. "I spent my early years without any parents; I left my family when I was young. Couldn't stand to be tied down, you know? No one could keep me in one place. Not my gang, not Katt, not even Starfox, at times."

Jet laughed a bit at that, then continued. "Well, after that, Black signed me up with Starwolf. They liked my fighting style, so they took me on pretty fast. And that's my life story." His head tilted down, and he stared at the sand below him. Falco noticed a few tears drip onto the sand, making darker circles among the white grains. Katt scooted closer, silently putting an arm around his shoulder, still staring at the calm waves. They remained like that until Falco lost track of how long they had been there, lulled into a state of timelessness by the beautiful scene before them. Beauty from all the poison, pain, and fear Andross had tried to drown Zoness with.

Beauty from chaos.

I

Fox's eyes blinked open, only to be filled with stinging water. He clamped them shut again, realizing he was floating in the ocean. He was holding onto something... he just didn't know what. He stopped struggling in the water, letting himself and whatever he was holding float to the surface. When he reached the surface, he gasped, taking in his first breath of oxygen in awhile, and opened his eyes. He was floating in the middle of Zoness' ocean.

Zoness. Slowly, the events of the past night came back to him, up to the final explosion that ended the whole event. After all that exertion, he felt like just giving up and sinking into the waves for the last time. Then he realized what he was holding tightly in his arms; Krystal. He knew he couldn't give up now. Her mouth was slightly open, her eyes were shut, and she didn't seem to be breathing. Fox looked around, spotting a small island with a lone palm barely poking out of the water. With his free arm, he began madly swimming towards the island, the soft waves helping him reach his goal. His strength eventually failing him, he turned his focus on just staying afloat as he was carried to the island, his eyes slowly closing.

He finally felt the soft sand brushing his side as they washed up on the shore, the waves gently lapping at their legs. He laid Krystal down beside him, still not letting go of her. Miraculously, she began coughing, spitting the salty water out of her lungs. Her eyes fluttered open, immediately finding Fox at her side. A faint smile graced her lips.

They were both alive.

Too tired to speak, they just stared at each other, smiling. Fox felt himself getting lost in Krystal's deep, violet eyes, sinking so deep he found himself in her onyx irises as dark as night... no, he had closed his eyes, that's why all he could see was black. He finally was succumbing to his lack of energy... he was drifting into sleep with Krystal in his arms.

Everything was the way it should be; everything was right. He could die right now and feel complete. He wouldn't mind.

As he was losing consciousness, he felt a hard bump in his pants pocket, but he couldn't tell what it was.

_What have I got in my pocket? _he thought before falling asleep.

I

**A/N If you get that Lord of the Rings reference, you'll know what it is. This was another long chapter, hope it was worth it. Please leave a review or funny comment, I really appreciate them both.**


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